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The Truth About Black Religion and Spirituality & The Lies of Christianity, Islam Dr. Umar Johnson

The Truth About Black Religion and Spirituality and The Lies of Christianity, Islam Dr. Umar Johnson (video)

NB Commentary: 

Dr. Umar ,made some really good points particularly when it relates to spirituality. Having gone thru Christianity to Islam to African traditional spiritual belief systems. Clearly, they do entail a great deal of the culture from which they are derived or shall I say controlled by. I have a few points to add.

1. The yin/yang principle is within every one of us, having been born from both a male and female conjugal relationship. Each person has a male principal and female principle within them. Therefore, we are a manifestation of the “whole” in and of ourselves. Gender is a construct but not applicable in the spirit realm, that is, a person may be born with the physicality of a male, but have a strong principal within of a female and the same can apply to a female. Here is where my departure comes as it relates to his statement about homosexuality. All too often, the spiritual nature of same sex relationships is packaged in disdain, hatred, and much confusion as to its purpose and nature. If he reads, studies or observes Malidoma Some’s work he will find that there is a deeper, often hidden purpose for this than is commonly acknowledge. Dr. Some is from Dagara people of Upper Volta in West Africa. In Dr. Some’s culture the homosexual is held in high esteem and are called Gatekeepers.

2. Expanding on my above comment I would also include that in traditional African spirituality, particularly among those who have not been influenced by Western taboos, you will find the notion of re-incarnation. It is believed that we re-incarnate as male or female. With that being said, we may present more closely to our most previous gender in our present life time as we navigate through the sexes. The idea is to experience “spirit” through the physical. In order to do so, we come as male or female through our lifetimes and that in and of itself may have us gravitate to a person of the same sex whom we knew and loved in a past life. There is no so-called gender construct in the spirit realm only as it manifests in 3rd dimensional reality. African spirituality is keenly aware of this, that is, how, a person who is part of the Yoruba/Ifa spiritual system can have an opposite or same sex Orisha as their patron. The male may find himself very intrigued by the female principal of a particular Female Orisha and appear to be “effeminate” but the reality is that the female energy is very strong within him. The opposite is true with women.

3. One point of departure for the Ancients particularly in reference to the Khemetian Spiritual Science; like many other religions that we are familiar with today, it was kept from the masses and only the “Royals”, the Priests and Priestesses were initiated into it. They were set apart from the masses and often revered as God incarnated and here we see the objectification of the God source to something outside of the individual. The separation between the haves and the have-nots was profound and the magic, spiritual practices, etc. were delegated to the royal blood lines, and priests. This carried over into the more modern religions of our time. But even if you look at Ancient China, Mesopotamia, India, and other ancient cultures the same is true. Some how the idea of controlling and manipulating the masses became prevalent for political, social and economic reasons and this system was primarily responsible for the civilizations to thrive. That is not to say they wouldn’t have done so without this separation, but in doing so, the element of controlling the masses for gains of the few was much more manageable. So, when we speak of Empire we must be fair in our delineation of exactly what that meant then and what it means now.

4.  Finally, I would like to mention that modern constructs of traditional African spirituality has become more institutionalized and thus there is a chasm between the Knowledge of “God” and the actual imbibing with the God within. Because it has become another tool of control through rituals and sacrifice, those in these “systems” become imprisoned as do the others in institutionalized religious practices. that is, African traditional spirituality becomes the same bastion of mind control and manipulation as the other more popular “religions”. It has become an institution and like he mentioned, it has become a business. People have their finances scarfed from them under the guise of pleasing the Gods/Ancestors and are seldom lead to believe that they can achieve this without all the trappings, i.e., shrines, altars, sacrifices, etc.

We are all here to learn, evolve and develop and for the most part Dr. Umar is clearly on point, and even with admitting his own evolution and development, it is very refreshing to hear him mention that, if just for the sake of perspective.

Personally, I applaud Dr. Umar and his work. He is very intelligent and creative in his manner of educating us about the issues we face in this world as African descendant peoples. Continue in your work, Dr. Umar, you are a blessing for those who have ears to hear.

Like he mentioned, there is no ONE AND ONLY WAY to connecting with the Divine within. In fact, the path may have many twists and turns, but if we remain vigilant we will succeed and the awakening will be all pervasive. We Are The Change We Are Looking For! Ase’, Namaste

Have You Ever Been Surprise By Garlic Turning Blue-Green?

Have You Ever Been Surprise By Garlic Turning Blue-Green?

NB Commentary:

I was about to throw all my blue garlic out. It was such a shock to see my garlic turn blue. I like to buy garlic cloves and blend them up in my blender with a little water. They are so much stronger in scent and flavor rather than buying the already hulled garlic cloves that come stored in a jar. I debated whether or not to purchase them or overcome the dread I feel when having to hull garlic cloves, they come in so many sizes and shapes inside the bulb and like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are gonna get.

Then, knowing that I had no idea how long those cloves had been in that jar I decided to get over my dread and go ahead and hull the garlic while watching a crazy news video on YouTube. I won’t mention my favorites but I will mention that many of the ones that are considered “alternative” media are only a stone’s throw away from the MSM when it comes to all kinds of crazy.

I have done this routine several times in the past. But this time, I decided to add a little vinegar to it to keep it fresher longer. Somewhere in my head I got the idea that vinegar would do the trick, and of course, “Real Apple Cider Vinegar” by Braggs would be the ultimate ingredient for my desired affect. So I drop a little bit in, blended it down into small pieces and put it in a jar in the refrigerator. However the jar I had was a bit too small so I had to leave some out to be cooked with dinner later. To my surprise, when I returned the small portion I had left out had turned the prettiest green ever! My sensibilities took hold and the battle within started. Of course food poisoning was my first thought and I quickly threw it away assuming that the garlic I had stored away in the refrigerator was safe and sound. The next day, I noticed that it too had begun to change. And with each passing day it got greener and greener and bluer and bluer.

I consider myself an alchemist especially when it comes to preparing a meal. So as a scientist I began to think some type of chemical reaction had taken place. However, I was not sure if the reaction was safe or not safe.  I went threw the antics of taking it out of the refrigerator and putting it back, taking the lid off and smelling it and putting the lid back on. It did have a slight metallic scent to it, but it smelled more like a really strong dose of garlic. I remained uncertain for several days after, while my freshly chopped in the blender and stored in the refrigerator garlic turned even bluer green.

I began to question everything that I knew. For years I have used garlic and I never, ever saw this happen. How could this not be a ominous sign of potential food poisoning? Ironically, we have come to see green, the most healing color ever, as poison! Especially when it sits on top of meats, breads, yogurt, cheese and now it’s sitting inside and outside of my GARLIC!!!

Thankfully, before I wasted $2.00 and at least an hour of time I decided to check it out on Google. My question started off like this, “Fresh Garlic turns…..” and before I could write the word green Google had already figured me out. That’s Google for you, reading your mind, I say.

I felt that it was completely ludicrous to even ask such a question. Whoever heard of such? GARLIC TURNING GREEN!!! But after years of using garlic, I really began to wonder if I may have come across a bad batch or maybe even a poisonous one. I began to question my home remedy Braggs “Apple Cider Vinegar”. I began to wonder if I had poisoned my food and if I would be too sick to attend my online meetings or live performance. I really began to worry, so my only other option was to look it up and to my surprise this is not an unusual occurrence but it has been done purposefully by the Chinese in some of their recipes. SMDH, who knew?

Well, now I know and now I can put that garlic back in the refrigerator and enjoy its even stronger taste and color.

What A Difference A Google Search Makes!!

Why Does Garlic Turn Blue and Is Blue Garlic Safe To Eat?

Updated on September 26, 2012

The Blue Garlic Surprise

Perhaps you, as I, have been cooking with garlic for years, expecting garlic to remain a kind of off-white, uninteresting color throughout the cooking process. Then one day, the garlic turns a bright blue-green, even an aquamarine or turquoise color, transforming a familiar dish into an odd concoction of color accents that undermine the familiar tones we expect. The visual impact of this changed dish can be likened to the colors of trees in autumn, with their red, gold, green, and dun colors, suddenly being splashed with fluorescent hues of blue and green reminiscent of the op art of the 60s. Autumn colors aren’t supposed to display this jarring contrast, nor is food. It’s unsettling.

If one day your garlic turns a shocking shade of blue, making your homemade pickles, pork roast, or pot of cabbage and kielbasa look strange and even poisonous, be assured that no matter how strange it looks, it hurts only your eyes, not your body. 

My Blue Garlic Experience

This past Thanksgiving I volunteered to bring our family’s traditional Polish kielbasa and cabbage dish to the holiday dinner. Ours is a simple recipe consisting of traditional Eastern European ingredients including onion, garlic, cabbage, sausage, black pepper, and apple. Our version of this dish is mild-tasting and slightly sweet, and we all love the recipe just as it is. But this year I decided to charge up the flavor a bit by adding sauerkraut to the cabbage, something I had never done before.

By early evening on Wednesday, my kitchen smelled heavenly from the onions, cabbage, apple, and kraut slowly simmering on the stovetop, from the freshly pressed whole head of garlic waiting to go into the pot, and from the thinly sliced kielbasa resting on the cutting board. It was a peaceful moment, leaving me with the feeling that all is well with the world.

An hour before the pot was to finish, I added the pressed garlic and sliced kielbasa and folded them in. Immediately, I began to see a few bright blue-green bits of color in the pot. As I stirred the pot, more began to appear. Soon, the pot contents were lavishly sprinkled with shocking, almost neon-like, blue-green, confetti-looking bits. I started picking them out and putting them in a small dish, but soon gave up. It seemed the more I removed, the more appeared.

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On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen

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Blue Garlic Facts for the Home Kitchen

Until more research is completed, here’s some helpful information to have when your garlic turns blue in your kitchen:

• Absent any sign of spoilage such as foul smell or mold, yourblue garlic is safe to eat.

• There are so many variables causing accidental garlic color change that it may be impossible for you to duplicate this surprising event in your home kitchen.

• No one as yet has discovered how to turn blue garlic back to white, although continuing to heat the turquoise garlic may dull it down to a pinkish-brown.

• When serving your dish that contains aquamarine bits of color, say nothing. Most folks, if they notice this color at all, will never ask, knowing that whatever you bring to the table is good to eat because you brought it. If someone does happen to ask why there are bright blue-green flecks of color in the dish, take them aside and tell them your secret and that you expect them to keep it: “The dish needed some color.”