the word

today's word comes from sobonfu some's the spirit of intimacy: ancient african teachings in the ways of relationships. this is from chapter 8, "intimacy: in the ash circle":

the dagara people believe that when two people share a spirited and balanced intimate life, they have the power to raise a healing energy for everything around them. for this reason a couple might dedicate their sacred intimacy to some higher purpose, in addition to the well-being of their own relationship.

sexy news

love it or hate it, steve harvey's getting press.

might as well be yourself. experts speak out on the "ex-gay" phenomenon.

"all of these people running around here jumping, skipping, falling in love…falling in love ain’t shit. Somebody talk to me, PLEASE, about how to stay there…" -dude from love jones. ok, here you go.

christian/hetero-centered, but the categories work: the four types of intercourse.

don't believe the hype

what have you bought into?
how much will it cost to buy you out?
~saul williams

almost lumped this article in with the last installment of sexy news, but it seemed necessary to delve a little deeper.

admittedly, the article is from britain, so there's a cultural difference. but judging from the results when searching google news for "love and relationships", we're probably not far off.

it's intriguing how one can reach adulthood without encountering enough differences in body types/standards of beauty to shatter any thoughts of an "ideal body" image.

granted, this could be a blessing of growing up black. while there is evidence that the body image gap is narrowing, your proprietress learned early on that there was no point in trying to achieve the "ideal" because that wasn't what {my} boys/men liked anyway. the first time her desirability was challenged was in college.

is this a consequence of always being "plugged in"? if so, it is a shame that along with the influx of information and increased connectivity that our media outlets provide, we've been transformed into lemmings who believe that whatever is on the tv/movie screen is representative of a high ideal we all need to achieve--even when we know the image is a result of surgery and photoshop magic.

what happened to the days when tv was just tv
movies were movies
and life was life?

we implore you: please step away from the porn and the retouched king and playboy mags. go out and love some real people with some body hair whose only makeup in the morning is the sunlight streaking across their face.

thanks.

in the waiting room...

"heaven"
tweet
southern hummingbird

rain is gone i feel the wind
brightest stars shinin in
a new life for love has come through
wish i had the words to describe
ridged feelings im so alive
let me tell you what i gained since leaving u

feels just like heaven
and a sunny day
definitely heaven
and a sunny day
feels just like heaven
and a sunny day
basically heaven
and a sunny day

no more breathing down my back
not too sure how to act
or even waitin for you to say i love you (i love you)
i'll kiss myself and say a prayer
and fill the void you left when you were here
lovin me means more to me then losin' you

feels just like heaven
and a sunny day
definitely heaven
and a sunny day
feels just like heaven
and a sunny day
basically heaven
and a sunny day
(3x)

Oh I'm in Heaven (3x)

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!

goddess food

a few weeks ago, your devoted proprietress was making her almost famous veggie chili and happened to cut into a red pepper so pretty it demanded documentation.





hey, if other folks can find jesus in a fish stick, we should be entitled to see the holy vulva in a bell pepper!

the word

today's scripture, "wise woman", comes to us from walking towards wisdom, by way of an artist named ruth.

and so we read:

I am One Who has mastered mystery. I am One Who has no fear. I am One Who sees the truth, and waits. I am One Who has complete understanding. I am One Who begins from a point of total acceptance. I am One Who offers only what is needed. I am One Who feels no sense of struggle. I am One Whose aim is true. I am One Who tolerates all things. I am One Who does not hesitate in the face of uncertainty. I am One Whose judgment is sound. I am One Who dwells on the mountaintop.

mixed blessing?

just ran across this article about the one taste urban retreat center.

first thought was: a retreat center focused on the female orgasm? right up our alley!

but the whole commune thing was a bit daunting...

i don't doubt that there could be good information being disseminated, and closing such a practice to transient participants is understandable.

then again, there are several ways to establish confidentiality and other norms within temporary groups that would make such a meditation possible over a few hours or a weekend.

visit one taste's site and decide for yourself.

thoughts?

props to cruel secretary for twittering this.

quickie!

if you like artistic nudes, hop on over to the odin industries blog.

quickie!

did you know that may 6th is international no diet day? me neither!

also, for east coasters, the fat girl flea market is happening on april 4th.

thanks to bianca laureano for twittering about this!