A solution to Black self-hatred...

Rhonda Byrne's book, 'The Secret', was released on November 26^th, 2006. In addition to this tome being a New York Times Bestseller, it's sold over 19 million copies and is translated into 46 different languages.

At the nucleus of this book's ideologies is the 'law of attraction' and how you can harness personal power through a simple three step process, which is encapsulated in the theorem: 'ask, believe and receive'.

The book basically says 'like attracts like'. Meaning, if you think angry thoughts and constantly feel angry, this will cause you to attract more events that will precipitate more anger; conversely, if you think and feel positively, you'll attract that same positivity back into your life.

Now the mantra, 'ask, believe and receive', has its roots in the christian bible. Matthew 21:22 says: 'And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive'.

This bestselling book's tenets were first featured in a documentary called 'The Secret', that came out in March of 2006. This doc consists of interviews that demonstrate the powers of the 'law of attraction', and how the mainstreamed masses can benefit from adopting this method for themselves.

And as we all know, this documentary and the publication of this book gained the attention of celebs like Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and Larry King.

Now, the message of 'positive visualization' has been promoted in and through the 'New Age/New Thought' movement for the better part of four decades. And while I agree that positive visualization is critical to achieving any kind of goal, I also agree that Rhonda's book should really be called the 'Half-Secret', 'cause there's a critical part of this process that is purposely being kept from the mainstreamed masses...especially the masses of Black people. And let me explain what I'm talking about...

Ever since I can remember, I'd been influenced by Hollywood movies and white western culture(s) period, to revile the Black Spiritual Sciences of The Orishas, Yoruba, Ifa, and especially Voodoo/Vudun.

I can remember seeing trailers for movies like, 'The Serpent and the Rainbow', where these odiously evil Black Voodoo priests/priestess' would cast spells over benevolent white missionaries/anthropologists trying to study and/or save the swarthy and savage masses of Black people. What I found out later, is that those white 'missionaries' in real life, were actually the first and most finessed wave of white colonizers who planned to take over the country/continent. I also found out two other facts: one, the first and probably greatest tool these white colonizers used to win over the Black populous was religion, and two, the term the 'serpent and the rainbow', actually referred to 'Kundalini' energies 'snaking' their way up the spine and through the 'colored' Chakra system(s) of the body. Meaning, it was talking about our people empowering themselves by means of the Black Spiritual Sciences.

And it's no coincidence that the Haitian revolution, that started with a Voodoo/Vudun ceremony (google 'Boukman's prayer' sometimes), is what gave this group of Black people the power to win their fight over Napoleon's army when they were outnumbered and outgunned.

Now, at the core of the Black Spiritual Sciences is this paradigm: while it's vitally important to visualize whatever outcome or goal your trying to achieve, what makes this process MOST powerful, is when you combine your goal's intention with the SUBCONSCIOUS MIND!

I liken 'The Secret' to religious prayer, in so much as, in my experience prayer does 'change things', but more often than not, it fails more than it succeeds. Now, I'm not saying this is EVERYONE'S experience, but it has been mine. And I'm saying, even when I prayed hardest, it seems what I wanted would only manifest a third of the time. So much so, that I stopped praying altogether.

Now, for a good while I've been telling the readers of this Blog that it's imperative for Black people to realize how we've been conditioned to hate ourselves more than any other kind of person on the planet, 'cause we have the most genetic power to breed our oppressors (i.e. white people) out of existence.

I've also expounded on how this resulted in our people being taught our ancestors were nothing but slaves, and how no other ethnic group gets taught this, and how white fascist techniques created the deep schism between the Black man and woman, and how this ultimately resulted in its desired goal, which is the nearly complete destruction of the Black 'nuclear' family.

But as of late, the sentiment I've been hearing from readers is, bruh...we got that message! Now how do we get out of this self-hatred?

So that's what I'll address in this post, by expounding on a meditative technique I've used to work towards that goal.

Now, I want you to notice that this post is called 'A solution to Black self-hatred', not 'The solution to Black self-hatred'. I would never be so pompous as to tell anyone I have the definitive solution to any problem, let alone that of how our Diaspora can pluck the self-hatred conditioned into us, out of us. So it's imperative you understand that this is a meditative technique I've used, to help me rid myself of the conditioning I received, unknowingly, in the american educational system. In other words, this is not a 'cure-all' or a universal remedy to this problem.

Now with that said, let's get into this technique...

What you should start off with is a candle, a quiet and darkened room, and a comfortable chair to sit in.

Now, the candle will serve as your focal point. This is going to be the instrument that basically gets you into your subconscious. And let me add, for those who don't have a candle handy, if you're not ready to purchase one, you can use some other household object as your mental focus point. For instance, you could use a 'night light' instead of a candle, or a common figurine of some sort. But, it's preferable that you use something 'illuminated', especially if you're going to sit in a darkened room. Now, you also don't absolutely have to sit in a darkened room either, but it makes the process of getting into your subconscious a whole lot easier.

Now, I've written about another technique I used to get into my subconscious on this Blog, but that was a bit too labor intensive for me to do consistently; so this is one I've created that's a bit more user-friendly, and lends itself more to being done daily. Also, whereas the last technique I wrote about took upwards of a half an hour to complete, this one can be done in ten to fifteen minutes.

And let me say again, this technique is to be done daily for the results you're wanting to achieve.

So let's say you have the candle and everything else you need for this technique. What you should do is light the candle, dim the lights and get yourself comfortable in front of the candle's flame. Now, you can sit, kneel or stand in front of the candle...whichever works best for you, as long as you can gaze easily into its flame. What I don't suggest is lying down in front of your candle, for the obvious reason of not letting it put you to sleep.

Allow yourself to gaze deeply into the candle's flame for at least three to four minutes. Watch the flame's slow flickering dance, while you lower your shoulders, relax your body and clear your thoughts. Now you should start repeating this inducing suggestion quietly in your mind, or out loud: “I am going deep into my subconscious, soon I will be in hypnosis.”

Relax every part of your body while you state this mantra. Feel a warm sensation washing down your arms, torso, legs and feet, while the whole of your body snuggles back in your chair. Keep repeating the suggestion.

What your trying to do is lower or lessen the conscious mind, so you can access the subconscious. Now, initially, you might experience a lot of chatter in your mind. This might range from thoughts about the day's events, to troubles you've been dealing with lately. Understand, this is just the conscious mind doing its job of protecting the subconscious. Remember, your subconscious keeps your heart beating and your lungs breathing, so the conscious mind is gonna' try to run some necessary interference. Just let these thoughts melt away and keep your mental focus on the candle's flame and your suggestion.

You'll know more or less when you're in or near your subconscious when you consciousness begins feeling a bit altered or fuzzy, kinda' like when you're driving down a highway and you stare at its white line. At some point, your conscious mind is still aware of what's going on, but you feel a bit of a 'buzzing' sensation, and reality starts feeling a bit suspended. Like when you've arrived at work, having driven for an hour, but you're unable to remember the majority of the journey.

Now, the more time you spend with this part of the process, the deeper you can impact the subconscious mind. So if you planned to spend eight of your fifteen minutes with the inducing suggestion, and want to extend it to ten or twelve, do so.

When you start feeling this 'altered' sensation, or the sensation of 'suspended reality', then you can start repeating the mantra you want to program into your subconscious.

Now, if your aim is to erase your Black self-hatred, I think the best place to start, is by getting rid of your feelings of inferiority around white people. So, in regards to them, I'd simply word my mantra like this: “I DO NOT feel inferior to white people.” And you can say this either to yourself or out loud.

While gazing into the candle's flame, repeat this mantra slowly, remembering once again to emphasize the words 'DO NOT'. Try to repeat this mantra as many times as you can in a seven minute period, and like I said before, if you want to go longer, by all means do.

Remember, your goal is to create a union between the candle's flame and your mantra. This is basically the physical representation of your intention connecting with your subconscious.

Also, a frequent reader of this Blog asked me, if you're feeling less confident around 'non-Black' people, then how should you go about wording a mantra that deals specifically with that?

I'd first go about identifying the ethnic group I want to target. For instance, if I found myself feeling less confident around asians, I'd word my conditioning mantra like the one above, and say: “I DO NOT feel inferior to asians.”

Now, when saying this, again, it's imperative you emphasize the words 'DO NOT'! For obvious reasons.

And the reason you'd say “I DO NOT feel inferior to asians.” As opposed to: “asians are NOT superior to me.”; is because the pronoun 'I' penetrates the subconscious more deeply than 'me' does, or would. And once again, I'll reiterate, this is the technique that's worked for me. Results can and do vary from person to person.

After you've created a synergy with your candle's flame and your mantra, and you feel you're ready to end the meditative session, you should stop repeating your mantra and breath several slow, deep breaths, before repeating a concluding suggestion. And that concluding suggestion is: “I am speaking to my subconscious mind, you will retain this command.” This further aids your mantra's ability to embed itself in your subconscious. Repeat the concluding suggestion slowly at least seven times. Then, give yourself over to your consciousness returning to its place at the front of your awareness. After a few deep breaths, you should be back at your regular consciousness. Then you're done.

You should start seeing, or feeling, the results of these daily exercises, in a matter of two weeks. After these two weeks, when you find yourself in the company of white people, you should notice that you're feeling more self-assured and self-possessed around them. The same applies to any 'non-Black' ethnic group your mantra is targeting.

I'd also like to remind people of this point emphatically: THIS IS WORK!!

Please don't do this once for fifteen minutes and tell me nothing happened, 'cause this ain't that kinda' party!

Understand that twenty plus years of conditioning, by the amercan educational system especially, to hate yourself and everyone who looks like you IS NOT GONNA' GO AWAY IN FIFTEEN MINUTES!

So you should realize that this is a marathon, not a sprint. You must dedicate yourself to this daily and over the long haul, if you're gonna' see any measured and lasting results.

Also, I need you to understand that after you do see results, and you've been doing these exercises for 6 months to a year, you may find that your mantras are becoming less effective. This happens when your psyche gets used to your mantra. An analogy I liken this to is what someone experiences when they start drinking alcohol. When you first start drinking, you might get an inebriated 'buzz' after two drinks, but after 6 months of drinking those two drinks, you'll find you need four or five, to get to the 'buzz' you first got with two.

When this happens, you'll have to 'double-up' on your meditation time, or your mantra's repetitions, to get the same results you've gotten before. So you see, this not only takes diligence, but continued maintenance.

But I tell you this, my life has been enriched beyond measure with this technique. I'm performing feats with my mind that I once thought were impossible...at least for me.

Also, this is just a technique I've come up with to effect change in my life. There are multitudinous ways of getting into your subconscious mind effectively. I encourage you to peruse a book store's shelves, and find some tomes that'll list more techniques that might work best for you.

But one thing that's truly lovely about this technique is you can tailor-make your mantras to help you with ANY situation. Remember, as long as you can come up with an effective mantra, and an effective way to connect your mantra's intention to your subconscious, NOT EVEN THE SKY'S THE LIMIT!

And best of all, what this also does, is get you out of the impotent orthodoxies of 'positive visualization' and simple 'prayers'.

So now that you know the fundamentals of this technique, all that's left to do is to get to work.

What I'll also mention, is techniques like this one, in my opinion, are really what makes being in the Black 'conscious' community worth while. Now don't get me wrong, having esoteric knowledge of ancient Black people is scintillating, but THESE EXERCISES ARE THE SUREST MEANS OF EMPOWERING OUR COMMUNITY AND OURSELVES INDIVIDUALLY! At least in my estimation.

And like I've learned last year, when people refer to 'Black majik' or 'Dark-Side majik', what they're talking about is working with the subconscious mind...the 'darker side' of ourselves. This is not only where our ancestors went to acquire power, but these techniques are what our ingenious ancient Black mothers and fathers left here FOR US!!

So let's be like our ancestors and get with the 'DARK-SIDE'!

The SUBCONSCIOUS MIND Y'ALL...THAT'S WHAT'S UP!!!!

Later...

MontUHRU Mimia