That's Another Thing I've Noticed About Feminism. There's A Heavy Focus On Mother's Needs And Wants Because

Josephine Baker (June 3, 1906 - April 12, 1975)

An American-born French dancer, Josephine Baker grew up in poverty. Between the ages of 8-10, she was out of school, helping to support her family, taking on jobs such as cleaning houses and babysitting for white families.

At age 16 she was touring with a dance troupe from Philadelphia. In 1923 she joined the chorus in a road company performing the musical comedy Shuffle Along and then moved to New York City, where she advanced steadily through the show Chocolate Dandies on Broadway and the floor show of the Plantation Club. In 1925 she performed in France at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, where she introduced her danse sauvage. She went on to become one of the most popular music hall entertainers in France. In 1936 she returned to the states, but despite being a major celebrity in Europe, was not accepted by American audiences, who referred to her as a “Negro Wench”. So she returned to Europe.

In the late 1930s, she became a French citizen, and performed in several films before WWII halted her career. During the German occupation in France, Josephine worked with the Red Cross and the resistance, passing along secrets she had heard from the Nazis to French Military officials, after performing for them. Passing along said secrets by writing with invisible ink on music papers.

In the 1950s and 60s, she returned to the US to help the fight against racism. She refused to perform for segregated audiences, which forced some club owners to integrate their clubs. She also began to adopt many children of different nationalities and races, calling them “The Rainbow Tribe”.

Josephine was an amazing woman, who worked hard and did so much for the world, and we love her here. 💜

Extra Trivia

Josephine was a bisexual who had an affair with Frida Kahlo, the two having met in 1939.

In 1963 she was one of the few women allowed to speak at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

Her opposition against segregation and discrimination was recognized by the NAACP

Unusual for her time, she was a woman who never had to depend on a man for financial stability, and was more than willing to leave a bad relationship (her first marriage only lasting a matter of weeks)

Spiritual Paths and The Ego

Since the ego is a constant force of opposition in regards to a spiritual path and self-transformation, one often seeks ways to overcome it when beginning their Path. One of the common things that may come up is the “ego death”, but it is often misunderstood that complete ego-destruction is necessary. So I will explain a bit about what the ego is, some of its dangers to be aware of, and how each spiritual path approaches this issue. As a note, none of these Paths are superior to the others, as they are equal. All that matters is what your goal is for yourself, and how you wish to be when you die. 

The Ego: This is the Self, our own identity. Without the ego, we wouldn’t have any sense of who we are or what we want, so it’s generally important to have. However, the issue comes when the ego is inflated, which often begins developing depending on how a person is raised and their mindset. Some signs of having too much ego include: paying attention mostly to one’s own self interests, disregarding the advice of those who have better knowledge or wisdom on a topic, refusing to acknowledge responsibility for mistakes, expecting to have things handed to oneself, seeing oneself as more important than everyone else, unable to handle constructive criticism, and so on. 

We all have to deal with bad parts of the ego, but what matters is how we deal with these things and if we actually try to change. If your ego is too large, you won’t be able to go very far on any path of spirituality, especially since the deities and other spirits will end up leaving. So self-work is extremely important; make sure you Know Yourself.

The following briefly describes how each Spiritual Path handles the ego. Be certain to choose whichever you can handle, as each one will be challenging to some degree. The Middle Path is very challenging, but not as challenging as the Right Hand or Left Hand. And the Left Hand Path is the most challenging of the three due to its severity and strong value of transformation through Adversity. If any Path ever becomes too difficult for you, you are free to either change Paths or leave the Spiritual Paths behind all together if you cannot handle their challenges. However, if you make a wrong decision by thinking you can handle more than you thought, it won’t be the spirits’ fault for this. Right Hand Path This is the Path overseen by the Angels, not the way Christianity or other religions are, as it is most similar to Buddhism instead. This Path focuses on oneness with the supreme deity- The Source, and also strongly honours other gods as well, such as the Queen of Heaven. Due to the goal of oneness, this Path teaches an individual to undergo the Ego Death, which is the full shedding of the ego (self identity), so that the person can act as an extension of the divine plan, with no ambitions of their own. These people are extremely humble and serve others above themselves, and also praise the angels for their ability to purify and show mercy. When an Illuminated individual of the Right Hand Path dies, they either become absorbed into the vastness of The Source (like an atom), or they become a Bodhisattva, where they remain around Earth in order to help other humans leave reincarnation. 

Middle Path

This is the Path overseen by the majority of Dragons, who act as balanced sages. This Path is most similar to Taoism, and also connects very well with Hermeticism (although these teachings can be used for any Path). The Middle Path’s goal is to remain in harmony with the Earth and to keep social unity. It also allows someone to be spiritual and live a life with some human comforts at the same time; though because of this, one who follows this Path cannot transcend at death like the other two. Since the Middle Path focuses on Balance, the dragons and deities will teach the person to remove the toxic parts of the ego so that the person becomes humble, and will continue training this person to remain serene and disciplined. They will not be overly humble, like the Right Hand Path, nor will they be driven towards self-empowerment. There are challenges in this Path still, as the Dragons utilize Arenas in their training, but the challenges are not as severe as the Left Hand Path, nor is the ego completely destroyed (like in Right Hand Path). 

Left Hand Path

This is the Path overseen by the demons, who are the pedagogues of transformation, self-mastery, and dark wisdom. These beings are the most severe and will target the toxic parts of the ego in a variety of ways. Often, the demons will be blunt towards the individual, pointing out their weaknesses and arrogant behaviours in order to challenge the person to rise against these things. This is difficult though, since the ego will try to prevent the person from listening, as the individual will become insulted. This, however, is not a wise response and must be fought against. Truth must be valued above the ego’s wishes, and this will bring painful realizations. But by doing this, the demons will begin to respect you and will teach you further, testing your limitations until you break past them. 

As the toxic parts of the ego die, the demons will empower the healthy ego since the goal of this Path is to preserve the individual, allowing  them to become a strong entity when life ends. This requires many challenges over the years, with much discipline and struggle in order to change for the better. This does not mean they will make you like a god, but you will be empowered as a more evolved being. The demons’ wisdom must be listened to, as they can see your faults and how you need to change. If they are disrespected, the training will be jeopardized. So anyone who believes they are strong and disciplined enough to go through this Path is welcome to try, as they must enter the Arena of Black Flame and lose everything that holds them back, so that they can rise. 

If you would like further information on the three Spiritual Paths, please consider reading my post here.

Cosmic intelligence is the same intelligence that creates the stars, planets, trees, flowers, mammals, and man. It also operates within human consciousness. It courses through the mind to direct its development. The mature state recognizes its part in the fundamental flow of life. Existence is made up of three states or identities. The first state is at a lowest level. To be whole requires advancement from the original base state through two more states of mind. The unconscious state begins in an animal nature (ego) that is self-absorbed. It wants its needs met and uses others to meet those needs. It is characterized by three traits: insensitivity to others, ignorance of the mind’s life cycle, and indifference to its impact on the environment. The ego lacks basic awareness of interconnections among things, how each fits into the other. It fails to put things in a context where meaning is revealed through relations of one thing to another. It is unable to see parts as belonging to the interdependent wholeness of life. A universal current flows through all three states of existence to fix them on a timeline. In terms of self-awareness, the ego that is unconscious is urged to reach the second state of human nature (self). This state of mind is aware of its impact on others and on the world. It takes responsibility for its own growth. Open to mythical communication, it seeks unity. Conscious of being conscious, it is attuned to inner directives that upgrade perception until the ideal vision manifests. By assimilating the whole truth, the subject becomes the Object (divine humanity). The popular translation for the endgame is “to be made in God’s image.” Enlightened awareness manifests as human goodness.

The first mind does not know it doesn’t know. The second mind is ready to let symbols and insights teach it what there is to know. In short, the first mind does not know it. The second mind does know it. The third mind not only knows it but becomes it.

-The Winged Serpent by Marilyn Kraft

We were together. I forget the rest.

source: annalaura_art

hideji oda’s miyori’s forrest || 小田ひで次の『ミヨリの森』

There's a difference between having empathy (comprehension that everybody has trauma) and then there's the expectation that somebody has a "consistent, sustained, high empathy level for you." This is a great example of a vampire - nobody owes anybody any of this. If you find a supply chain that is willing to feed you, great, but the reason why a lot of women avoid each other is because of these extremely high demands on what won't help the individual; you have to get in touch with your soul, not more people. There aren't enough people in the world to support you when you don't have a Self.

This is a lot more than just asking for compassion. Learn to love yourself instead of demanding it from others otherwise, you're just a bottomless cup.

This is a hottake. I've been thinking about this for a while. There are lesbian women that have this intense desire to get pregnant and start families. Of course, that means they'll need to use male sperm. That just feels like a dangerous game to play - especially considerng that the sperm is parasitic by nature. Also, aren't there enough children on this planet? I guess I'm stereotyping, but I never considered some lesbians would fall for the white picket fence fantasy so hard. And many people don't think to adopt because they only want children that look like them (as if that guarantees those children will grow up to become their carbon copies and behave exactly the way they do)...

"The computer's processes have unwittingly advanced the cause of women and images, even though these aspects of computer operation have nothing to do with the computer's content, which is the manipulation of information. The world of cyberspace is a computer-generated extension of the human mind into another dimension. The computer has carried human communication across a threshold as significant as writing, and cyberspaces's reliance on electromagnetism and photographic reproduction will only lead to further adjustments in consciousness that favor a feminine worldview. Irrespective of content, the processes used to maneuver in cyberspace are essentially right hemispheric. The World Wide Web and the Internet are both metaphors redolent of feminine connotations."

-The Alphabet Versus the Goddess by Leonard Shlain

A pretty interesting read. It analyzes the advancement in literacy throughout time and some of its pros and cons. It also brings up how we have become predominantly left brained due to the (often forced) use of our right hands, and how this has promoted linear thinking. It may not be a common practice anymore, but I've heard stories of educators hitting left-handed kids with rulers until they learned to write with their right hand. It's a strange thing to enforce, and it really makes one think...

The advancement in technology has a dark side, but the author suggests that some good will emerge in a new "Golden Age" where both right and left brain thinking reach some sort of equilibrium with the use of the internet. This is also interesting since I've been seeing parents, educators, and whoever else talking about the decline in reading amongst children. I'm starting to wonder if there will be a larger shift from text and back to image. Picture books/graphic novels seem to be grasping the attention of adults and children alike more and more throughout the years (if they weren't already). This is an observation of the English language, of course, since there are places that utilize symbols and characters in their writing.

I remember this lol

Meghan could blink and people would equate it to mass g*nocide.

Meghan Markle cradled her baby bump — and it's upsetting some on social media

The Duchess of Sussex was seen frequently caressing her belly, and some did not like it.

THIS IS A FUCKING THING??? THAT PEOPLE GET UPSET ABOUT????!!!!! !?!?! THIS ISN’T EVEN THE FIRST TIME IT HAS HAPPENED TO A PREGNANT CELEBRITY!!?!?!?