"i fall in love with myself, and i want someone to share it with me."

the roof garden

if you'd like to learn how sacred love/loving can enhance your life, check out adoration of the beloved.

rev. majadi baruti describes himself as an "afrikan goddess evangelist", and his insights on the divinity of woman are breathtaking.

listen now, thank us later.

the wisdom in worship

I'm not a big believer of the worship of statues, but there's a beautiful symbolism to what I saw there, because a woman's heart is just like that. At the essence of every woman's heart is the divine feminine. It contains everything that has ever been beautiful, or lovely, or inspiring, in any woman, anywhere, at any time. The very essence of every woman's heart is the peak of wisdom, the peak of inspiration, the peak of sexual desirability, the peak of soothing, healing love. The peak of everything. But it's protected, for good reason, by a series of concentric walls. To move inwardly from one wall to the next requires that you intensify your capacity to devotion, and as you do so, you are rewarded with Grace. This is not something you can negotiate verbally with a woman. She doesn't even know consciously how to open those gates herself. They are opened magically and invisibly by the keys of worship.

read the rest here.

the word

today's word comes from the ethical slut: a practical guide to polyamory, open relationships & other adventures by dossie easton and janet w. hardy.

We dream of a world where no one is driven by desires they have no hope of fulfilling, where no one suffers from shame for their desires, or embarrassment about their dreams, where no one is starving from lack of sex. We dream of a world where no one is limited by rules that dictate that they must be less of a person, and less of a sexual person, than they have the capacity to be.

We dream of a world where nobody gets to vote on your life choices, or who you choose to love, or how you choose to express that love, except yourself and your lovers. We dream of a time and a place where we will all be free to publicly declare our love, for whoever we love, however we love them.

And may we all look forward to a lifetime of dreams come true.

and let the ch'uch say...

in memoriam

the day our music died...

blessings on your life...rest well.

triflin' ass love songs

there have always been some "love" songs that skirt the edges (or jump a good 6-7 feet over the line) of propriety. here are a few that come to mind, from the mildly offensive to outright blatant hussiness.


5. joe, "all the things your man won't do". although this breaks with the old school vibe we were aiming for, a paramour deemed him worthy 'cause, "he's always tryin to be somebody's side piece". so here you go!




4. billy paul, "me & mrs jones". and they don't sound young, either...shameful!




3. luther ingram, "(if loving you is wrong) i don't wanna be right". lots of remakes on this one, but it seems mr. ingram performed the definitive version. either way, this has to be the most doomed affair on the planet. even the parents are against it. awful.




2. atlantic starr, "secret lovers". they know they're wrong, and the duet factor brings the trife level close to perfection. but, there is one that tops them all...




1. shirley murdock, "as we lay". 'nuff said.




and a couple of honorable mentions to...

the isley brothers, f. chante moore & r. kelly, "contagious". the justification factor isn't there, but the operatic skit? "low down dirty woman / back to where you come from"? trife. something nice: it is arguably one of the few times the isleys tried a "hip" sound that didn't sound utterly ridiculous.





pleasure p, "boyfriend number 2". this is a new single, so it's apparent that the youngbloods are keeping the traditions alive. but the stage name? i can't.

also see: "i love your girl".

picture black love

remember our announcement about black love in public?

one of our beloveds, sista c, mentioned it as well--accompanied by this beautiful photo. she has a fantastic blog called sistah goddess y'all really should see.

thanks for such a positive image!

for you, valentine

whether you're in love, out of love, hopelessly bitter or overly optimistic, you'll find something to smile about in the city paper's valentines.

enjoy!

know thyself

today we felt compelled to share this beautiful discourse on love by ms. b.l.u of organik b.l.u.

this was originally posted on myspace, but you can also find this collective and its creatrix at organikblu.com or join their ning network.

~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

You cannot fully experience love in this life until you know what love is. To "Know Thyself" means to know it at every level, not just your physical and emotional levels. From this foundation you can then truly begin your journey towards a fulfilling relationship with one or many souls.

Every single one of you is a perfect being of love within. We are equal and loving beings who hold the potential to share this love with anyone we so choose. This being understood, let's erase a universal mistake in human thinking: "To have love, we must find love." There is no finding love, only expressing love! To find love suggests we are currently without it, and this is impossible for we are light beings, which are all love.

Let me give you an example of this. We all wake up from time to time and feel happiness or joy at the world (some people feel this all the time, and some once in a lifetime). We bounce out of bed and greet people with more love expressed. Now, we really know the world certainly did not grow more beautiful overnight! What happened is you allowing yourself to let your love flow from within. That is all.

Two or more people do not create love, only express it, depending on their own ability to let love flow from within themselves. You cannot create what already exists in its entirety. What appears to be created is really just two people sharing what is already within themselves and the end result is called a relationship. Ịf one is unable to feel love, it is because he or she is blocking what is within them. Then they mistakenly blame the other person for not being lovable or for creating this block.

The highest mind shares their inner love and takes responsibility for their own inability to feel that love. Do not confuse unlovable behavior with your own inability to express love. The people around you are always doing unloving behavior for they are not aware of their own inner love to some degree. This is why we were given the ability to have children. For this was as close as many of us would get to dealing with unlovable behavior (not following rules, outbursts, unreasonable behavior, etc.) and still expressing love! We could start to see what the expressing of unconditional love looked like. But you create this same situation in a relationship between adults, and bam, the "love" is seemingly gone. It is never gone, just utterly repressed and blocked. We were also given Spiritual Masters in order to observe their unfettered expression of love: Christ and Buddha are two examples. Their ability simply came from seeing all of us as "children" of God. While they may not love our behavior, they never stop loving us. This is Christ Consciousness love.

The reason that the term soul mate is skewed in concept is that people think they can only feel that love with one special person. In fact, they go through life looking for this soul mate and often end it in grave disappointment and reflect this disappointment with less than loving behavior towards their current mate. If we were unfettered with all of our veils, we could love completely anyone. When I go out in public, I do not say, "I will not treat this person with love because they are not my friend, family, or lover." I treat them with the same respect and love as I would my dearest friend, for underneath it all, and at the highest level, they are.

If we were to speak of something that feels like a soul mate love, or a split apart, it is generally this: People can spend many lives and dimensions together by choice. Through these lives they start to resonate more closely with each other. A history is created, and deeply seated emotions are built. Each subsequent life, their ties grow stronger and their desire to be with each other builds and it subconsciously returns. Because what we resonate with we attract, we inevitably will be thrown into each other's paths on this plane. Best friends, extremely close siblings, and yes, even your closest lover, are often these people. I refer to these people as being from the same "soul group." Clusters of souls that resonate with each other, and seek their own company over and over. And within these soul groups can be the closest thing to a soul mate, which is two souls holding the highest desire to express their inner love with each other. You could say this is a soul group within a soul group.

I am speaking ideals here. This is what I, and all of us, hope to aspire to. Do I make mistakes? Or course, and I still do in abundance. But I keep these ideals in my heart and strive for them daily. I am constantly adjusting myself to reflect my higher self. I like to say I'm a Work In Progress! I do get to witness the success of this every so often. I have this girlfriend by the name of Trina that was and is in my soul group. The moment we met, we resonated like I had never resonated with a human being. We chose to be together in every way, including working in the same office at Microsoft for three years! I loved her with no conditions and no blocks. No matter what she said, did or didn't do in our relationship, I loved her. Because of her own blocks and feelings of guilt, she withdrew from much of her circle of acquaintances (including me) and I have not seen her in years. My friends always ask why I keep her picture around the house for she has abandoned me, but I tell them that I love her without conditions. It doesn't matter what she does, only that I love her. Now, while she has shut me out on a physical level, she cannot do this on a subtle level. Her awareness is not yet developed, but mine is. I see her all the time in the higher planes and we talk for hours and she tells me what she is doing. Our desire to be together, as a soul group member, supersedes any conscious block that she has created. And when I come back from a visit with her, I will hear through the grapevine exactly what she was telling me personally in these other places. So you see, her love is always there, but her ability to let it flow became restricted. And yes, I may never see her again in this life, but I know for sure we will in the next....

So remember, you are a being of light comprised of love. To know love is to know thyself. If you seek outside of yourself, it should be to share, not to find.

cradle of civilization

hetep, party people. let's take a moment to talk about our wombs, shall we?

this deceptively simple aspect of our anatomy does many things: aligns us with the phases of the moon, works to ensure hormonal balance, centers and informs creativity, populates the planet...

wait.

let that last one marinate for a breath or two. like an asana.

you populate the planet.

now that you've been reminded of this spectacular role, understand that womb health is a process. like most other things, what works for one sista may not work for you, and that's ok.

it is never too late to love your womb.

it does not matter if your womb is physically present or not.

you can love her if she is infertile. in fact, she could be infertile because you're disconnected.


you do not have to be a mother, nor do you have to desire motherhood. planet population has just as much to do with the birthing and nurturing of art, ideas, words, visions, and concepts as it does babies. all are important, valuable, and necessary.






your moontime does not have to be a painful "curse". in fact, it was never a curse at all. without it, there would be no life. {you.populate.the.planet}

learn which herbs, meditations, stones, sounds, and scents you need. don't fret if your sistagurl's sandalwood & myrrh makes you wanna retch. you might just be more of a lavender and palmarosa kinda chick.

the for the sensual intellectual sidebar includes many resources that can start you on your journey. several of the books deal with women's health, chakra work, and other womb-friendly practices.*

by now, most of our afrikan-centered readers are probably familiar with the wisdom of queen afua. sacred woman is a great way to start or continue on your womb wellness journey, no matter what your starting point.

dr. sunyatta amen is another excellent holistic health practitioner and womb advocate. her bellydancers of color association holds a conference each year.

dr. christiane northrup is author of the classic women's bodies, women's wisdom. she also has a lot to say about menopause, so if you're entering that phase of life or have a beloved crone** who is, you might want to look into her work. there are some who say that having a hysterectomy {spiritually} catapults you into crone status, no matter your age.

suns, if you've wandered in and all this sounds familiar, put your queen on. monthly trouble with her cycle, creative/emotional blockages, a sense of aimlessness...all these could be signs of womb distress.

if this is the first post you've come to, then you probably needed it! let your consciousness drift over the information here, and embrace your path towards a miraculous relationship with your womb! the love and support you need will rush to meet you.


*as stated in our disclaimer, always check with your physician and/or gynecologist before trying any "alternative" methods you may read about here or elsewhere.

**you've probably realized that words like crone, hussy, heathen, witch, slut, jezebel, old woman, harlot, and even bitch are used positively and with reverence at the shack. question the connotations surrounding the language you've been given. search for the knowledge it's meant to conceal from you.

quickie!

the love art lab

a wonderful example of making love happen, no matter what.

a higher vibration

greetings & salutations, beautiful people.

your friendly goddesses here at the maison de sucre have discovered a disturbing trend that we felt the need to share with our lovely guests.

while canvassing the web for sexy news, it became clear that the negativity surrounding love, relationships, and partnership in the united snakes* is clear, present and prolific.

no wonder the divorce rate's so high, the babies are struggling, and antidepressants are selling like ginseng and jyotishmati oughta be.

we've got to do better. where's the love?!?!?? you might find it in blogs and books, but where's the media dialogue on how we can become bigger, better, faster, stronger microcosms of the macrocosm**?

we all need love, whether it's from family, friends, or lovers. love prompts activism. love fuels change. when you love unconditionally and fully, from a place of security and understanding, you open spiritually and your reality becomes a vastly different place.

so, do something. now. no picket sign necessary.

pleasure yourself.
compliment a stranger.
hug someone you love. or find this guy.
do something good for your 'hood.
kiss a baby.
if you feel you cannot love, heal.

blessed as we are, good news about how we're gettin' down shouldn't be a needle in a haystack.

go out and make that news, sugarpies. pretty please?




*we are, after all, down with the red, black and green.
**oh. you didn't know you were a star, star?

sexy news

love school!

still can't get married, but online dating just got a little easier: eharmony must offer same-sex dating option.


pay to play: britain cracks down on prostitution, and guardian readers respond.

ad nauseum: the size question, scientifically.

pleasure principle

ok, babies. let's talk about some serious life stuff right now--feeling delicious.

no, not herbal enhancements or even brownies--although either's cool if that's how you get down. this is about true, deep down, toe curling, smiling at nothing in the middle of a three hour meeting type pleasure.

ain't about whether you've got a man or woman. actually, your vibration needs to hum a little higher if you're gonna get that bliss you've been craving. so here are a few ways to get that glow:


eat what you want, when you want--but listen to your body.
sing for no reason.
smile at the sunrise.
put flowers on your desk.
learn how to shine.
laugh at shit THEY tell you should be taken "seriously".
have chocolate before breakfast.

love yourself. love yourself. love yourself.
that includes not taking any shit.
seriously.

love other people.

be generous in whatever way(s) you can afford.

think beyond payday. you are not your job, car, clothes, or money. own that truth. take care of business, but understand that fact to your core.

google everything.
turn off the tv.
read the paper.
google again.
watch independent movies.
shut down your little hater.

turn off the radio, too. listen to what they're playing in cd stores and before live shows instead.

read.
buy books whenever possible, but borrow them if you can't.
go into your local boho bookstore. they won't bite.
read to your kids.
your family members.

write.
record your dreams.

...you feel me?

leave some worshipful replies, beauties. let's deal in pleasure power and get each other blissed out. write your own bliss list! holla back so we can link to your loveliness.

...of course, our goal is to engage you in your fantasticness. so you're welcome to sit back, relax, and take it all in, but it's so much more fun if you participate.

ankh, wedja, seneb!