Are you Rastafari?
Are you a Rasta? What does it mean to you?
I was asked this question 3 times in one weekend so thought I would write...
My dad teases me that I am “New Age Rasta” ;). To be honest, I think this sums up my perspective pretty well. Let me try to explain why...
I was raised in a Rasta family -- propa Rasta. House in the hills, large family with locks, strictly ital food at home, reggae music and herb 24/7, weekend reasonings about black liberation, mental slavery and H.I.M Haile Selassie. Later we were baptized in the Ethiopian Orthodox church and went to church every Sunday. The family even re-located to Tanzania and Ethiopia and spent time in Shashamene, our Rasta community in Ethiopia.
I also went to St. Andrews prep and Campion College (Catholic high school). My skin is light brown and we had more money and enjoyed greater privilege than all of the youths in the community, but less than that of our school mates. We got teased for our locks. Some friends weren’t allowed to play at our house.
I am a descendant of both a slave master and a slave, very literally - I have seen and read it in family history and pictures. In Tanzania I went to an International School then went on to Stanford University. I lived in a black dorm, but felt out of place within African American culture. I moved back to Jamaica for a year for medical school and now I’m living in Seattle, Washington studying to become a naturopath and teaching Kemetic Yoga and Vinyasa flow yoga.
Needless to say, my life experiences have been extremely diverse and I constantly face challenges to my identity -- am I black? white? african-american? caribbean? african? rasta? rich? poor? oppressed? liberated? a kemetic yoga teacher? vinyasa flow? what does all of that mean for me anyway?
FOR ME, Rastafari is a Historical, Cultural, Social, Spiritual and Philosophical movement with multiple different interpretations within each category.
Historically I acknowledge H.I.M Haile Selassie as a Sage of his time, and one that lives on so powerfully in the hearts and minds of millions of people. He is a pristine example of how to lead our world toward evolution, a Spiritual approach grounded in equal rights, social change and material and educational progression. Beyond this I never got too involved with the biblical references and historical claims because History as a general approach to learning has always been challenging for me. I don’t know how to decide what is Truth based on the varying perspectives and writings of men and women, and even the value of it anyway. I face this same challenge with the history of yoga and my approach to teaching.
Culturally I AM RASTA!!! I could not imagine a more aligned culture to my Soul personality. Earth, fire, drums, authentically natural and sustainable livity, herbs, hills, big families, community, Africa. Though I have been through my own youthful rebellions against things like head tying and long skirts, at the heart of it, rasta culture resonates so deeply with me. It is the expression of my personality that perfectly aligns with the vibration of my Soul.
SocialIy I face the greatest dichotomy because of my living example of experiencing both ends of the spectrum. Embedded in me is a purpose to uplift and serve the under-served and this I know is a direct effect of how I was raised. This is what we DID as a family. It was our spoken and unspoken duty. Our home was (is) basically a community center. Our dinners stretched way beyond just our mouths. My parents live and breath advocacy and community service. But who do I advocate for if I am both black and white, rich and poor? the oppressed and the oppressor? the kemetic yogi and the light-skinned vinyasa teacher? This is where yoga guides me. This is where Rasta philosophy strengthens my deeds.
Spiritually and Philosophically, Rasta is the Oneness -- the recognition of our Beings as primarily Spiritual and the fostering of our connection to the Creator, the Universal Spirit “Jah”. In this category Yoga and Rasta have absolutely no differentiation for me. This is where I can stand simultaneously on both ends of the lever and sit in the balance of the union of the opposites. This is where I reside and where I try to work from. And where there is imbalance I travel there, scoping out the territory and seeing how I can teach Oneness through my actions. Not from a place of arrogance OR inadequacy, but with a powerful desire to nurture Ma’at in our world -- Truth, Purpose, Balance, Righteousness, Order, Reciprocity and Propriety.
This remains a work in progress. Because there is so much imbalance, so much work to be done and so many questions about how to not get stuck on one end of the spectrum, or stay in the comfort of the balanced lever. Because without justice there is no peace. I give thanks for all my teachers along the way who continue to guide, influence, inspire.
The journey continues....
My dad teases me that I am “New Age Rasta” ;). To be honest, I think this sums up my perspective pretty well. Let me try to explain why...
I also went to St. Andrews prep and Campion College (Catholic high school). My skin is light brown and we had more money and enjoyed greater privilege than all of the youths in the community, but less than that of our school mates. We got teased for our locks. Some friends weren’t allowed to play at our house.
I am a descendant of both a slave master and a slave, very literally - I have seen and read it in family history and pictures. In Tanzania I went to an International School then went on to Stanford University. I lived in a black dorm, but felt out of place within African American culture. I moved back to Jamaica for a year for medical school and now I’m living in Seattle, Washington studying to become a naturopath and teaching Kemetic Yoga and Vinyasa flow yoga.
Needless to say, my life experiences have been extremely diverse and I constantly face challenges to my identity -- am I black? white? african-american? caribbean? african? rasta? rich? poor? oppressed? liberated? a kemetic yoga teacher? vinyasa flow? what does all of that mean for me anyway?
FOR ME, Rastafari is a Historical, Cultural, Social, Spiritual and Philosophical movement with multiple different interpretations within each category.
Historically I acknowledge H.I.M Haile Selassie as a Sage of his time, and one that lives on so powerfully in the hearts and minds of millions of people. He is a pristine example of how to lead our world toward evolution, a Spiritual approach grounded in equal rights, social change and material and educational progression. Beyond this I never got too involved with the biblical references and historical claims because History as a general approach to learning has always been challenging for me. I don’t know how to decide what is Truth based on the varying perspectives and writings of men and women, and even the value of it anyway. I face this same challenge with the history of yoga and my approach to teaching.
Culturally I AM RASTA!!! I could not imagine a more aligned culture to my Soul personality. Earth, fire, drums, authentically natural and sustainable livity, herbs, hills, big families, community, Africa. Though I have been through my own youthful rebellions against things like head tying and long skirts, at the heart of it, rasta culture resonates so deeply with me. It is the expression of my personality that perfectly aligns with the vibration of my Soul.
SocialIy I face the greatest dichotomy because of my living example of experiencing both ends of the spectrum. Embedded in me is a purpose to uplift and serve the under-served and this I know is a direct effect of how I was raised. This is what we DID as a family. It was our spoken and unspoken duty. Our home was (is) basically a community center. Our dinners stretched way beyond just our mouths. My parents live and breath advocacy and community service. But who do I advocate for if I am both black and white, rich and poor? the oppressed and the oppressor? the kemetic yogi and the light-skinned vinyasa teacher? This is where yoga guides me. This is where Rasta philosophy strengthens my deeds.
Spiritually and Philosophically, Rasta is the Oneness -- the recognition of our Beings as primarily Spiritual and the fostering of our connection to the Creator, the Universal Spirit “Jah”. In this category Yoga and Rasta have absolutely no differentiation for me. This is where I can stand simultaneously on both ends of the lever and sit in the balance of the union of the opposites. This is where I reside and where I try to work from. And where there is imbalance I travel there, scoping out the territory and seeing how I can teach Oneness through my actions. Not from a place of arrogance OR inadequacy, but with a powerful desire to nurture Ma’at in our world -- Truth, Purpose, Balance, Righteousness, Order, Reciprocity and Propriety.
This remains a work in progress. Because there is so much imbalance, so much work to be done and so many questions about how to not get stuck on one end of the spectrum, or stay in the comfort of the balanced lever. Because without justice there is no peace. I give thanks for all my teachers along the way who continue to guide, influence, inspire.
The journey continues....
It’s a great mission to uphold the truth, to be true to self, to pursue truth and to aspire towards self growth. I am very often criticized for being too accommodating, too naïve, for not being decisive and not spending enough time on forward planning. I believe that this orientation comes from my own deep yearning for balance. I also feel that life is so determined by destiny that a large part of it is pre-ordained and that plan as we may, much of our lives are just playing out a pre-recorded song. While trying to work on my “weaknesses” I also am also trying to accept that these are other people’s strengths and that my power and potential come from surrounding myself with and/or empowering those that have complementary gifts and orientations. How much more powerful we could be if we could seek and secure the balance amongst our respective strengths instead of being so quick to criticize or define the characteristics of others as “weaknesses”. My own self journey is truly trying to be less judgemental and to take a panoramic view to overstand and appreciate context and attract only positive thoughts and energy. Not to judge is to recognize that we are mere specs in the universe and that every “imperfection” has its purpose and beauty or needs space and support to grow and improve. I love the law of attraction and want to become a master and winner instead of a believer and beginner.
ReplyDeleteIs this the age of Aquarius where love will rule the planets and peace will steer the stars? I certainly haven’t quite seen strong indications of this yet. But I am definitely seeing more young people yearning for positivity, substance and meaning instead of being satisfied with almost two decades of decadence and moral disintegration that I have witnessed. I hope I live to see the return of even half of the community spirit and common vision I experienced growing up in the 70’s and early 80’s.
I went to the Jamnesia Seventh Anniversary last night. For those who don’t know, Jamnesia is small “backyard” platform for music and culture located near the sea on the South coast of Jamaica…a few miles outside of Kingston, which has been a university of music where young artists bursting with talent and potential are given a platform to perfect their art. Today a whole stable of these same young reggae artists have launched into the international circuit and are on tour overseas. I witnessed another rasta family living the vision. A family that has lived together, visioned together, worked together, stayed together. Parents who have livicated their life to self determination, defying the odds to make their living from their art and talent, becoming pioneers in the music and film industry and creating a local surfing “industry”. Most importantly I saw the model of a family that has lived not only for themselves but with a social conscience to help make life in the larger universe meaningful. I saw Ini singing on stage looking like his father and singing and playing guitar beside his brother. Mother and father in the background living in love, laughing together drinking homemade soup as they observed their children seamlessly continuing their works. When our daughter Kelissa was called to perform and later brought our son Keznamdi to join her for her top song “Giddeon” I felt the energy when founder Billy came to rock beside us. Without saying a word I knew we were experiencing the same joy. Seeing our offspring continuing our cultural paths, dreams and aspirations. Then we were graced with the surprise performance of Billy Mystic himself belting out all time favourites with members of his Mystic Revealers Band which was one of the popular reggae bands of its time. But I feel this was a rare moment.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I have observed along my own life journey is a significant lack in our efforts as families and as a people to nurture and tap into the power of the bridge between generations – the combination of youthful energy, risk-taking, spontaneity, innovation with wisdom, experience, seasoned skills, insight and perspective. The common orientation is for the younger to dismiss the older as defunct, slow, embarrassing, out-of-synch, inflexible and for the older to dismiss the younger as immature, impatient, impulsive and individualistic. If everything else in nature is a cycle and if the tree has both buds and falling blossoms, why do we feel our lives should be any different? I hope we can see and support more endeavours and initiatives that strengthen the family which is the unit of society. How can we expect peace and unity within the universe if we don’t start at home?
And a word about social media our newest language – a tool that has given new meaning to networking and communication, a powerful platform to influence thought and action and an instrument that puts control of advertising and marketing in the hands of the creator. But along with this has come another layer of class divide of discriminatory access to information and distancing of the “haves” from the “have nots”. In addition it has made us obsessed with establishing and maintaining the brand, of creating and controlling illusion. How are we increasing access to cyberspace for those outside the world-wide-web? Are we reserving enough time for “off line” interaction and communication. Are we protecting from our whole persona being driven by branding and securing friends, likes and followers. Have you ever wondered how movie stars distinguish between illusion and reality? Are the images we are posting a projection of our reality or are we making reality from our projections? I hope we will master the art of balance between the empowering and disempowering potential of this tool we call social media. I wish that your blog may stimulate positive thought and energy both on and off line.
Thank you Emama Kerida for your food/fuel for thought. I especially appreciate your wisdom/ insight on the use of social media. Your thoughts are well received. Your children are blessed with beautiful parents. I too have wonderful parents who have instilled such valuable lessons & principal in my life & it has given me continuous guidance on this journey called life that can sometimes be wide & blurry...Your family has been a great reminder to me recently to apply Sankofa in my life. I am grateful for the internet for meeting, getting a glimpse to the inspiration & healing so many brothers & sisters have found in their life...You guys rock! Fiker (Love) & Misgana (GiveThanks). Respectfully,
ReplyDeleteMimi (Selamta Yogi)
This post spoke to me on so many levels. Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteGive thanks for the positivity....let good conquer evil .....blessed love
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this post. It was honest and insightful. I sense you have a wonderful spirit. As someone who is also on a journey I found this to be encouraging.Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete