A powerhouse sistah is a strong woman who as a little girl had dreams of becoming a surgeon and an astronaut.
She is a girl who loved books, school and did extra homework beyond what the teacher assigned because she loved being smart and told she was smart.
A powerhouse sistah is a girl who as she got older and was teased for being a nerd, a geek, still tried the hard classes, like algebra in the 7th grade while the other girls grew up too early chasing the boys.
When this powerhouse sistah got into high school, she developed into an attractive young woman, but was held back showing her intelligence in math and science by men intimidated by her brains and beauty.
A powerhouse sistah did not let silly intimidation by men affect her love of math of science, because she dreamed of the stars and the universe.
But what hurt a powerhouse sistah more is other woman who fell in the trap of letting a man define beauty took her down and made up vicious rumors about her, calling her crazy
Why? Because she loved the fact that organisms can be magnetic to by magnetosomes inside them with magnetite? Or that she enjoys debating how Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA?
The powerhouse sistah tries to overcome the hateful, jealous vitriol by studying more, making herself smarter, gaining more knowledge.
Yet, the core of her soul is doubted and disrespected just because she is a powerhouse sistah.
Then she goes to college, hated some more.
Goes to graduate school, gets a Masters and a Ph.D., hated more.
Does post graduate work and is asked why she is not married.
A powerhouse sistah was had it in her mind to be on equal footing with her husband. But in science, a powerhouse sistah is never on equal footing. No, she must work ten times harder and faster to get a quarter of the distance of her male counterparts who are neither powerhouse or sistahs...
To solve her inner turmoil, she stresses. To reduce her stress, she eats. She rationalizes to be massively obese, would justify how people treat her. Since she cannot be visually appealing or intellectually stimulating, she may as well fit that stereotype. Then she is no longer a powerhouse sistah.
More like a safe bet...
You see, when there are powerhouse sistahs in charge, shit gets done. Budget crisis? What budget crisis? Debt ceiling, we are in surplus! And health care woes? Solved.
She can shake and bake, fry it up and boil it down.
A powerhouse sistah knows that weight is carried on her back, from her mother's mother, great grandmother's mother.
So when a powerhouse sistah picks herself off the ground, dusts herself off, and walks in those 6 inch glitter Louboutins...She looks good!
Because see, you cannot keep a powerhouse sistah down for long.
She fights back! For what is right. For justice.
And somedays, are tougher than others. And the desire to give up is easier than the desire to move forward.
But night will turn into daylight...
And that powerhouse sistah is...
To my powerhouse sistahs--I love you!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
How I fell for the gank move...
All my education in the world did not prepare me for the unsavory high pressure sales tactics of the door to door salesperson for Kirby Vacuums. For those who do not know, Kirby Vacuum are an old American brand with a quality product, though extremely expensive.~$1800 for a used model.
Anyhow, I was targeted when I decided to check outside my house for fighting cats oddly enough. This beat up dark blue van called Rhino Distributers, LLC filled with young people struggling, stopped by and misled me to think that I could call for a demostration of the pricey Kirby vacuum.
No sooner that I realized it, these people busted through my door saying they were ready to full shampoo a portion of my carpet. Me being compliant, tired and discombobulated allowed these fools to do this to me. The demo went well, through talking to me they appealed to my vanity and emotions with crafty sales tactics.
I wanted to make my home look nicer, but the special super vacuum was not going to do it--we decided on new flooring. The cost of this vacuum would foil my husband's and mine's agreement.
I wanted to be nice since I have a social anxiety since living in Washington state. What happens to me is I get angry, and combative. In Seattle, the arrest and beatdown Black Women. I have had to learn how to bite my tongue off to survive here. (See I hate Seattle series).
So rather than attempting to be firm, speak directly to these predators, or just go outright crazy Black woman on them, I obliged them and got tricked into buying something I had no money to purchase. I bought a used Kirby Vacuum for $1800 with no background, no names, and no confidence in my purchase...
In my state, that is called preying on the vulnerable. That is against the law. I liked the product, but I kept saying I have no money. These lunatics sold me a $1800 vacuum. When I was going through the whole process, nothing said STOP in my mind. I was incapacitated. In fact the demonstrator became belligerent when I said I did not want the vacuum.
After I punked out, I called my husband. He asked a ton of logical questions I could not answer. When he got home, he was cool with the job, but it was not what we wanted. I think he realized I was incapacitated, so we checked my credit reports because I gave no credit card. All the personal info, the had was my SSN and that disturbed us. We checked and reported them to the Better Business Bureau. Finally, we will be writing Kirby.
The following day I sent the form I filled out with the credit check. We told the company that we do not want the product. And we expected my trade-in vacuum back at a designated time.
They use cell phones that are personal, like they are not friends. To deliver it back, they did not show up with my trade in vacuum. Then they pressured me again to get their product back. I got angry when the guy accused me of not trusting them with returning my old vacuum and playing games with phone calls. That is when this Sistah went off... I said what I said, then slammed the door on dudes face...
Then I called my husband and now he is willing to assist me.
This lunacy enraged me because I feel my mental wellness is questioned. I is a combo of both.
Folks who are dealing with mental health conditions are prey for unscrupulous people. The sales tactics appeals to vanity and friendliness. It is only to SELL YOU THE PRODUCT!!!
The concept is "a sucker born every minute"...
I fell for the gank move...
Anyhow, I was targeted when I decided to check outside my house for fighting cats oddly enough. This beat up dark blue van called Rhino Distributers, LLC filled with young people struggling, stopped by and misled me to think that I could call for a demostration of the pricey Kirby vacuum.
No sooner that I realized it, these people busted through my door saying they were ready to full shampoo a portion of my carpet. Me being compliant, tired and discombobulated allowed these fools to do this to me. The demo went well, through talking to me they appealed to my vanity and emotions with crafty sales tactics.
I wanted to make my home look nicer, but the special super vacuum was not going to do it--we decided on new flooring. The cost of this vacuum would foil my husband's and mine's agreement.
I wanted to be nice since I have a social anxiety since living in Washington state. What happens to me is I get angry, and combative. In Seattle, the arrest and beatdown Black Women. I have had to learn how to bite my tongue off to survive here. (See I hate Seattle series).
So rather than attempting to be firm, speak directly to these predators, or just go outright crazy Black woman on them, I obliged them and got tricked into buying something I had no money to purchase. I bought a used Kirby Vacuum for $1800 with no background, no names, and no confidence in my purchase...
In my state, that is called preying on the vulnerable. That is against the law. I liked the product, but I kept saying I have no money. These lunatics sold me a $1800 vacuum. When I was going through the whole process, nothing said STOP in my mind. I was incapacitated. In fact the demonstrator became belligerent when I said I did not want the vacuum.
After I punked out, I called my husband. He asked a ton of logical questions I could not answer. When he got home, he was cool with the job, but it was not what we wanted. I think he realized I was incapacitated, so we checked my credit reports because I gave no credit card. All the personal info, the had was my SSN and that disturbed us. We checked and reported them to the Better Business Bureau. Finally, we will be writing Kirby.
The following day I sent the form I filled out with the credit check. We told the company that we do not want the product. And we expected my trade-in vacuum back at a designated time.
They use cell phones that are personal, like they are not friends. To deliver it back, they did not show up with my trade in vacuum. Then they pressured me again to get their product back. I got angry when the guy accused me of not trusting them with returning my old vacuum and playing games with phone calls. That is when this Sistah went off... I said what I said, then slammed the door on dudes face...
Then I called my husband and now he is willing to assist me.
This lunacy enraged me because I feel my mental wellness is questioned. I is a combo of both.
Folks who are dealing with mental health conditions are prey for unscrupulous people. The sales tactics appeals to vanity and friendliness. It is only to SELL YOU THE PRODUCT!!!
The concept is "a sucker born every minute"...
I fell for the gank move...
Friday, June 3, 2011
Portraying Rape in the Media -- @Rihanna and #Mental #Health
As I move along in my businesses, Sistah Mental Health and Wellness and Isle Sanctuary Creative Artists, I have learned that for the latter, topics cannot be covered by any literary means, such as rape. It is okay for rap videos to destroy female images and vampire movies and television to bludgeon people, but it is NOT tasteful to even have a conversation about rape. No, no... It is okay for girls to promote and glamorize themselves as slave girls in a bondage domination sadomasochistic (BDSM), but rape... No THEY SAY rape is untouchable.
My evidence is clear when I protested against a heinously named account used for roleplay and the psychological damage it would do to girls. Forget the fact that many young girls of 12 years old, have a pollyannish view, also called "Mary Sue" concept of of what a relationship is, a real one in fact and a FUNCTIONAL one vs DYSFUNCTIONAL one to cyberbully me forcing me to accept SLAVERY OF WOMEN in the fictional Universe of Star Wars... In fact, Slave Girl Leia costume outfit is the highest grossing costume for women who want to pretend they are in Star Wars as costume roleplay or cosplay.
So if these women have EVER been raped in real life, like I have, their viewpoints would be extraordinarily different.
Power over the perceived vulnerable to force them to succumb to dehumanization. The easiest way to do that biologically is to confused the pleasurable signals to the brain when one has sex with a violent physical act...
For some people, it changes them into suppression for many years. I have friends who have been raped and sexually molested as children who are so fearful of anyone showing them "touch compassion"... I think what happens to the victim is an ugly cycle as I hated "touch compassion" by someone who altruistically cared for me...
And then for some people, they take the sexual violation overboard and they rationalize it to perceived sexual freedom that involves discordant risk taking -- histrionic behavior -- i.e. they have sex with anything, anyone, anywhere. Promiscuity is NOT the right word for this kind of behavior. More like, "I hate myself, no one cares, so I do not care what someone does to me" or what my folks would call, becoming a "doormat" to someone to wipe the shit off their feet... I know... BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!
So when Rihanna's "Man Down" video came out and she acted out a ~5-8 second scene that involved physical brutality resulting in rape, and she shoots the offender, I applaud her efforts to bring a strong relevant topic of rape victims, such as myself, who have suffered silently about their rape. Good for her!
However groups want to suppress her visual depiction of rape, because, I really do not know or understand it.
The lame excuse is that it is a difficult subject to broach. It is one girl's fantasy to be raped. Or if I am paying for this, why do I want to see this? She should have not gotten herself into that position to be raped. Look at her, she is wearing skimpy clothes she is begging for it. Etc., etc., etc...
Typical answers that if a true mental health rape counselor was in the room would be squashed.
No one asks to be raped. There is no amount of dress that matters to a rapist -- the rapist sees the target and wants power over the target. Silencing sufferers voices is deadly and suppressing them allows stupidity and ignorance to fester. When one has been raped, there are no illusions or fantasies that are needed to want to enjoy reliving it...
On CNN an opinion piece makes a great argument thanking Ms. Rihanna for her guts to show what she suffered and therapeutic writing and video of her difficulty.
I wrote a Star Wars fan fiction involving rape. I did not writing in any gory detail, I just wrote elaborate descriptions of what happened. Some personal experiences were included, some fictional issues based on my own personal research were added for the continuity and flow of the story. I do not want to sell, as my hateful counterparts want to say, rape to George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars... But, I think if we are going to talk about what is evil and how evil it is, then one form of evil is taking away a vulnerable person's identity and retribution of that identity.
Regardless, my hateful counterparts are too sullen to get that concept... Of course, they have not really had to deal with the mental anguish of rape.
RFRS: Army of the Born Sith'ari
I do not think the art is a fabricated fictional version of rape when the realness of it hits a victim. I think the healing power is the ability to creative advance beyond the pain one goes through after the violation. I would prefer someone write a story, sing a song or draw a picture to work through the humiliation of rape, than to truly act on what Rihanna showed in her video, shooting the rapist. But then, Rihanna is working from her artist perspective that is indelibly wrapped in her cultural perspective of Barbados. And in that culture, it is possible that for women, that is what they have to do to get "justice". And after one is raped, the victim only sees wanting justice or wanting that back which was ripped and stolen from them.
I think that is what "Man Down" is really about, lyrically and video wise. Was it the optimal portrayal -- for someone Rihanna's age, that is pretty good and is pretty bold for her to write a song, put it to music, sing it, act it out and have it play on video on what happens to a lot of women of African descent...
My evidence is clear when I protested against a heinously named account used for roleplay and the psychological damage it would do to girls. Forget the fact that many young girls of 12 years old, have a pollyannish view, also called "Mary Sue" concept of of what a relationship is, a real one in fact and a FUNCTIONAL one vs DYSFUNCTIONAL one to cyberbully me forcing me to accept SLAVERY OF WOMEN in the fictional Universe of Star Wars... In fact, Slave Girl Leia costume outfit is the highest grossing costume for women who want to pretend they are in Star Wars as costume roleplay or cosplay.Despite the immortal status it has given her, Fisher has admitted that she initially objected to the costume, believing it made her appear subordinate to the male characters: "When they took my clothes off, put me in a bikini and shut me up, I thought it was a strong indication of what the third film was."[citation needed] One Wired magazine editor concurs, stating the only reason for the outfit's fame is "no doubt that the sight of Carrie Fisher in the gold sci-fi swimsuit was burned into the sweaty subconscious of a generation of fanboys hitting puberty in the spring of 1983."[19]
So if these women have EVER been raped in real life, like I have, their viewpoints would be extraordinarily different.
RAPE IS NOT SEX! IT IS ABOUT POWER!
Power over the perceived vulnerable to force them to succumb to dehumanization. The easiest way to do that biologically is to confused the pleasurable signals to the brain when one has sex with a violent physical act...
For some people, it changes them into suppression for many years. I have friends who have been raped and sexually molested as children who are so fearful of anyone showing them "touch compassion"... I think what happens to the victim is an ugly cycle as I hated "touch compassion" by someone who altruistically cared for me...
And then for some people, they take the sexual violation overboard and they rationalize it to perceived sexual freedom that involves discordant risk taking -- histrionic behavior -- i.e. they have sex with anything, anyone, anywhere. Promiscuity is NOT the right word for this kind of behavior. More like, "I hate myself, no one cares, so I do not care what someone does to me" or what my folks would call, becoming a "doormat" to someone to wipe the shit off their feet... I know... BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!
So when Rihanna's "Man Down" video came out and she acted out a ~5-8 second scene that involved physical brutality resulting in rape, and she shoots the offender, I applaud her efforts to bring a strong relevant topic of rape victims, such as myself, who have suffered silently about their rape. Good for her!
However groups want to suppress her visual depiction of rape, because, I really do not know or understand it.
The lame excuse is that it is a difficult subject to broach. It is one girl's fantasy to be raped. Or if I am paying for this, why do I want to see this? She should have not gotten herself into that position to be raped. Look at her, she is wearing skimpy clothes she is begging for it. Etc., etc., etc...
Typical answers that if a true mental health rape counselor was in the room would be squashed.
No one asks to be raped. There is no amount of dress that matters to a rapist -- the rapist sees the target and wants power over the target. Silencing sufferers voices is deadly and suppressing them allows stupidity and ignorance to fester. When one has been raped, there are no illusions or fantasies that are needed to want to enjoy reliving it...
On CNN an opinion piece makes a great argument thanking Ms. Rihanna for her guts to show what she suffered and therapeutic writing and video of her difficulty.
I wrote a Star Wars fan fiction involving rape. I did not writing in any gory detail, I just wrote elaborate descriptions of what happened. Some personal experiences were included, some fictional issues based on my own personal research were added for the continuity and flow of the story. I do not want to sell, as my hateful counterparts want to say, rape to George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars... But, I think if we are going to talk about what is evil and how evil it is, then one form of evil is taking away a vulnerable person's identity and retribution of that identity.
Regardless, my hateful counterparts are too sullen to get that concept... Of course, they have not really had to deal with the mental anguish of rape.
RFRS: Army of the Born Sith'ari
I do not think the art is a fabricated fictional version of rape when the realness of it hits a victim. I think the healing power is the ability to creative advance beyond the pain one goes through after the violation. I would prefer someone write a story, sing a song or draw a picture to work through the humiliation of rape, than to truly act on what Rihanna showed in her video, shooting the rapist. But then, Rihanna is working from her artist perspective that is indelibly wrapped in her cultural perspective of Barbados. And in that culture, it is possible that for women, that is what they have to do to get "justice". And after one is raped, the victim only sees wanting justice or wanting that back which was ripped and stolen from them.
I think that is what "Man Down" is really about, lyrically and video wise. Was it the optimal portrayal -- for someone Rihanna's age, that is pretty good and is pretty bold for her to write a song, put it to music, sing it, act it out and have it play on video on what happens to a lot of women of African descent...
After all the ugliness as women that we have suffered in more ways than one, we deserve to be heard, and if it is through song, then I want to hear that. Because it is liberating for me.
After all the ugliness as women we have suffered in more ways than one, our voices, our thoughts, our overcoming will NOT BE SILENCED AGAIN!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Art Therapy: Isle Sanctuary Creative Artists -- the daughter of Sistah Mental Health and Wellness
ART THERAPY -- ISLE SANCTUARY CREATIVE ARTISTS A DIVISION OF ARIAFYA LLC THAT ALSO OWNS SISTAH MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS
One of the easiest ways that is relatively free is "creativity" -- IN ANY FORM -- "art therapy" so to speak. Isle Sanctuary Creative Artists was BORN out of Sistah Mental Health and Wellness to promote self-management of mental health and wellness through creativity and art.
Isle Sanctuary Creative Artists is the creative outlet to help those who are dealing with mental health conditions to release "packets of their trauma in their sleeping mind" to process to their "awake mind" for their best healing.
The name "Isle Sanctuary" was created based on the start of Sistah Mental Health and Wellness to guide folks to a place of calm. At the time, the most calming place I knew was Hawaii due to my numerous trips, and I wanted to share that with everyone I met online. I called it the Isle Sanctuary -- a peaceful oasis in the ocean, away from the torrential storm.
I wanted those who came to Isle to find balance and unlock their creative minds to help them find healing. I thought that our active duty military personnel and veterans can use this process to achieve their best mental health and wellness. And I think it does for them, and what I found was, my fictional story that I wanted to tell based on my favorite movie, Star Wars and I could tell it using roleplaying on social media...
Isle Sanctuary Creative Artists roleplays or RPs on Social Media. Roleplaying mainly is "pretending" to be one's favorite character or created character, and then "ACTING" in that character's voice with other people. There is an entire culture devoted to it. To explain it to those who are not involved, it is like being in a "school play" but there is no script.
For the older generation to understand it, it is like a 1940's radio drama, but now the "radio" is "social media". For the parents, it is like one of those videogames, but it is more of a free-for-all, that organized.
What Isle Sanctuary Creative Artists does differently from others is that applies a socially conscious business plan for an organically creative organization based on precepts of filmaking to elicit GREAT works of ART on social media.
We develop creative storytelling, fan fictions, graphic arts, and social media content development and background programming. ALL of these activities we envision can start the pre-productions of any larger format media such a books, novels, animation, television screenplays and movie scripts. The "enActors" can be played by anyone who can use social media and knows a bit about game strategy and acting.
What the production and distribution company gets in return is marketing metrics of their script -- what were the BEST lines of the script, does the scene have to change, the look and the feel of the performance, etc.
Because I am a HUGE fan of the Star Wars genre and Lucasfilm, I created three characters of my own:
AUSET LAH The Grandmother ((Image courtesy of Patrick Lambert -- artist has not named her Auset. But has not told us to cease and desist. We are in negotiations for a rendering.))
Senator Yemaja Lah The Mother with the greatest amount of work and stories devoted to her. Many love affairs from Jedi to Sith.
Osun'oya Lah-Windu. The Daughter of a clandestine affair between Jedi Master Mace Windu and Senator Yemaja Lah.
As set of Grandmother, Mother and Daughter and how they interact with one another in the Universe of Star Wars. Through my stories, I have determined that the most popular character is Senator Yemaja Lah, that her image is best reflected by the supermodel and actress, Ms. Selita Ebanks. That her voice must be diplomatic, somewhat elusive and cryptic; and that her greatest strength is to find her voice to stand up for herself, independently from her family. ALL of her being, created by me, was developed creatively by social media on Twitter. There were numerous others that assisted me and some I appreciate, others became wholly disgruntled, which prompted me to be able to "sell" this character to professionals and laypeople - many of them active duty personnel and veterans...
What the active duty personnel and veterans helped me to is to add layers and textures to my character. They added the procedural advances and with my knowledge of policy and government, I added the diplomacy to make this character come to life.
Recently, Isle Sanctuary Creative Artists has come under fire due to gross allegations of misrepresentation of those who are intent to destroy the story of Senator Yemaja Lah on Twitter. There is a competitive edge to roleplaying without organization based on cyberbullying of the domination of the conversation and ad homimen and ad proprium logic fallacies. Without naming these individuals directly, the risk management of our process is to block those individuals we do not know who have also given me death threats and their attempts to justify them by posting their offensive behaviors on the Isle Sanctuary blog and Facebook Fan Page.
As a corporation, since there is multiple accounts from the same individuals, we were blocking and obtaining examples of their behavior. Currently, when we have a more formal human resources and customer services department, we will be better able to follow through with the remarks more judiciously from a business perspective.
We have transitioned to Facebook Fan Pages which expands our social media network to the professional community and have made excellent contact involved in media production and distribution, as well as insiders to lift this "fanon" character to canon.
We are ready to add to the industry impact of movie making because we think social media needs to start at pre production, rather than after the final cut onto disk or film!
Aloha and E komo mai to Isle Sanctuary Creative Artists!
Our Active Duty Military and Veterans' Mental Health and Wellness: PTSD
First and foremost I am not a veteran, and I FULLY SUPPORT the our active duty and veterans of my country, the United State of America.
Since I have been doing online mental health and wellness resources and support, I have received numerous inquiries from our active duty personnel and veterans. What I have learned by talking to them that they are actively working on themselves to find information and resources for their best mental health and wellness. I applaud their efforts, and personally, I LOVE THAT! They are finding novel ways to improve their health and they are starting online.
There are numerous active duty personnel and veteran groups that assist with dealing with mental health issues, which include Federal programs, some in the VA and outside the VA.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is one of them.
There are other online groups, one dedicated to Female Veterans through the VA and NAMI.
In 2008, Sistah Mental Health and Wellness was a private group in active recruitment of diverse women. Many of our members were veterans. They still support Sistah Mental Health.
What I have learned about our men and women in combat is mostly what affects them after serving is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
It can be one of the leading causes to anxiety, panic, which can also lead to depression and/or substance abuse.
Our society, though changing, still has the stigma of mental illness and our troops are paying the price for that. Without going into the societal issues, if I could please transition with people's patience on what I think is going on neurologically as a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and a research scientist.
Research has shown that PTSD is caused when a traumatic and stressful event is encountered. Events could range from active combat, stressful job requirements, abuse, natural disasters: Earthquakes, Floods, Tornadoes and Hurricanes; and other events that overload the conscious mind to a tipping point.This overloading of the conscious or "awake" brain can cause physical damage in the brain. If never addressed, it can lead to traumatic brain injury. But the perturbations in the brain are chiefly related to the molecules that control a variety of processes neurologically, such as RNA (ribonucleic acid), which affects one's perception on a traumatic event.
What happens is once the event is encountered, the "awake mind" has NO WAY of processing it logically, so it suppresses what was witnessed to process it later. Where the mind physically puts this event is into the subconscious -- the "sleeping mind". The "sleeping mind" is a different brain center. Our creativity come from there, our dreams come from there, our reflective thoughts which has nuances to understandings come from there, and our fears can come out of there. Moreover, the "sleeping mind" is far from being logical or rational, and many times our emotions are released from there. We can cause a perpetual state of nightmares where our fears of the trauma are exposed and the only way we can stop them is by staying awake, which can cause depression due to a lack of sleep; or substance abuse that has too many problems in and of itself.
Molecular biologically, some heart hormones sent to the brain go to these brain centers that are often tied in to our emotions. One such hormone is BNP or brain natureitic peptide. Of course there is NO linkage to PTSD here, but it is NOT inconceivable that other key second messengers sent to the brain from organs are not caused by traumatic events.
We are biologically WIRED to respond to trauma in this way as a process of evolution. If we were not wired this way, we would be vicious animals unable to control what makes up human, what makes us compassionate, caring, loving individuals.
On the flip side, if the logical "awake mind" attempts to process the event, the trauma can become addictive due to the endorphins it produces. The risk taking, sometimes unnecessary and illogical may be a result of different people able to manipulate their brains from the "awake mind" to the "sleeping mind".
What I professionally think to deal with these neurological paradoxes inclusive in a treatment plan is mindfulness meditation similar to that of the Japanese Samurai and martial arts. Deep transcendental meditation after trauma. Our society is new to this Eastern Medicine technique. Moreover, prayer can work when there is little political influence and the higher ideals of the faith are supported: The love, the compassion the goodwill, etc.
What I like about mindfulness is the "art of breathing" -- how to breath and releasing that breath, and inclusion of nature in the process -- listening to the rain, waves, birds, trees, etc and minimizing the machinations of "city life". Becoming respectful of the environment or good stewards to the environment.
We have to TRAIN like running a marathon or mountain climbing or any other feat; our "sleeping mind" to donate pieces of what happened to our "awake mind" to process and digest the trauma without discoloration. It takes a long time.
One of the easiest ways that is relatively free is "creativity" -- IN ANY FORM -- "art therapy" so to speak. Creative writing and artistry is the flip side of Sistah Mental Health and Wellness supports on Isle Sanctuary Creative Artists.
Isle Sanctuary Creative Artists is the creative outlet to help those who are dealing with mental health conditions to release their "sleeping mind" to their "awake mind" for their best healing. The name "Isle Sanctuary" was created based on the start of Sistah Mental Health and Wellness to lead everyone in a group of calm. The most calming place I knew was of my numerous trips to Hawaii and I wanted to share that culture and essence with everyone. I called it the Isle Sanctuary -- a peaceful oasis in the ocean, away from the torrential storm. I wanted those who came to Isle to find balance and unlock their creative minds to help them find healing. I thought that our active duty military personnel and veterans can use this process to achieve their best mental health and wellness. And I think it does for them, and what I found was, my fictional story that I wanted to tell based on my favorite movie, Star Wars and I could tell it using roleplaying on social media...
{new blog forthcoming}
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Mental Health and the Vegetarian
For at least 17 years, I have been a vegetarian. I am now an ovo-lacto-vegetarian: I eat eggs and some dairy. I have to eat my eggs mixed in with a lot of spinach. I do not drink milk, but I eat ice cream and I am not a fan of a various flavors.
My friends are rather respectful of my diet. Many are helpful to determine what I eat and how I eat it. People that do not know me are clueless and frustrated. And forget most key and the chain restaurants. I just starve.
There are many reasons why I chose to become a vegetarian. I was an adult. I knew my body pretty well at that time. My family health history was less that perfect, the usual African American ailments: Diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure, obesity, stress, etc. And I had the layer of accepting my bipolar diagnosis at the time. With all the new medications I had to balance, I felt it was time to clean up my diet and leading to a healthier one.
I had always considered becoming a vegetarian, but I never knew how. So I did mine "cold turkey" -- pun intended. I ate no meet one day.
I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THAT FOR ANYONE!!!
- Physically, what happened was my hair started falling out, my skin was excessively dry, and my pallor or skin tone was gaunt. I did not have much weight to lose as I was already thin, but my stomach started extending which is a sign of starvation.
- Mentally - separate from the mental health condition - I had cravings, but they were not horrendously bad. I also did not have the habit of eating a late night snack.
- Economically - I was clueless at the cost of vegetarian food. Fresh veggies are best, but I did not know how to process them. The new veggie process foods were my staple and I never seemed to have enough. You can have two quick addictions: Sugar or salt. I had both and consumed too much of it.
- "Bipolarly" - I was prone to huge swings in mood on a vegetarian diet. I tried everything to limit the pendulum magnitude. From Valerian root to Prayer, nothing seemed to balance the mood. Exercise was NOT a problem. Stress was a problem but not unmanageable until the next overload. That overload made me more sensitive to my female changes in my body. My bipolar was tied to my menses and at that time, sensitivity to that by physicians was ABSENT! Today there is an awareness, but NO EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS!
It took YEARS for a balancing.
How I found that balance ironically was having a major health crisis of seizure. Thankfully, I am a research scientist and I had my pulse on the literature. Glancing over a few scientific articles in peer reviewed journals, I found that Free Fatty Acids are VERY important components in the brain. I NEEDED THEM! A vegetable/vegetarian/vegan type oils cannot supplant the oils obtained from meat products, like Fish Oil, Cod Liver Oil, Eggs, Milk...
With HUGE reluctance, I reintroduced animal oils back into my diet. Eggs and Milk are as much as I can tolerate. I cannot take Fish Oil, even the processed DHEA oils, my stomach does not settle. But I saw a balance in my behavior, which is more important to me than worrying how "true", "real" or "authentic" I am to the cause of "Vegetarianism".Some people have the genetic structure to cope with a complete vegetarian diet. I do not and I did not. Will I eat solid meat products. I cannot tolerate them physically. Organic diets have not worked for me. But vitamin supplements have, which have more to do with a product of age than dealing with Bipolar.
Do I have a problem with restaurants not attempting to have some basic vegetarian items or diversity on their menus. You bet I do! It is not that hard to create a nice concoction of meals, and yes, most of the customers eat poor comfort foods in my area. Adding soy-based or even mushroom based foods is not that tough. And a vegetarians taste bud palate on the tongue seems to appreciate the diversity of the flavors.More and more the chefs who become "Molecular Gastronomists" are determining that immense flavor and the healthy phytols can be elicited through the standards of vegetarian cooking.
Yes, much of the vegetarian cooking practices come from Asian cultures. But there are other diverse cultural influences that can be built with a vegetarian influence: African, Brazilian, Russian, Mediterranean -- GLOBALLY one can build a vegetarian plan for a healthier diet.
I have a variety of health spices I use in my cooking that adds new flavors to my family's diet. Lastly, there is a way to make it happen economically, BUT there is no point in choosing to become a vegetarian, when the stores in your neighborhood look at you with a blank stare. I live in a food conscious area, where food quality is great. But most of my friends live where there is gross food inequality and injustice. Freshness is lacking, junk foods are prominent and there are no "staples" like sugar, rice, flour, beans, etc. and let us not begin to speak on what leafy green FRESH vegetables are available for purchase... I believe that someone spoke about a "Food Gastromony" as coming BACK to the dinner table... In our current society, that has not happened and I am guilty of that.
However, how to fight against food injustice is another article. And, I will find a way to write it. But I will take suggestions.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Isle Sanctuary Creative Artists - A Labor of Love
Isle Sanctuary Creative Artists is the premiere entertainment roleplaying group on Social Media that creates and performs stories using an array of optimized metrics and analytics to maximize the audience's enjoyment. Contact us here!
Our areas of focus are:
We test scripts at pre-production with social media to see if any adjustments are required using social media metrics
We tell stories on social media by roleplaying (RP)
Our social media outlets are:
We hope to expand to Second Life and others.
There is a lot of work that goes into performing a story by social media roleplay that is mentioned on Isle Sanctuary Blog
This company is available to test scripts at pre-production to see if changes are required before launch and filming.
What the client would provide:
- One or more scenes of a script loosely dialogued script with a plot goal
- Internet actors required for the scene(s) that can ad-lib and use social media professionally
- Attendance to "performance times" and any "in character" interactions
What we provide:
- Social media account set-up, development and content based on consultations
- Script preparation for social media
- Pre-roleplay blogs posts
- New character launches and test drives
- Performance management at "social media opening"
- Post performance reporting of dialogue, response rates, and evaluations
- Post performance in character blogs
With our service you will have dedicated fan base willing to see new and exciting entertainment on social media. When performed with social media, due to tactile interaction causes "memory" in the audience's mind. The audience will feel they are a part of the entertainment process and will develop a loyal and an anticipation of new products.
If this is something that interests your group and want to know more, please contact us or at any social media node
Thursday, April 14, 2011
ALERT! EPISODE WARNING! I SEEK JUSTICE!
On my Facebook account I posted a picture during one of the more happiest times I have been a biomedical scientist. I was at the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, as a newly minted Ph.D. working for a physician scientist who studied stress response proteins in congestive heart failure. My first trial period, I successfully cloned my transgenic construct to be injected in to mouse embryos. I had 7 founder lines and 3 of the mice transfered the transgene into their progeny, indicating the gene was in their germline. Every thing was PERFECT... Till I wound up waking off the floor...
Thinking what was best for me and the fact that my Ph.D. graduate advisor who has now died, said I needed to take care of myself, I decided not to return to my hometown, San Diego, but to get married to a wonderful man and live in Seattle and I thought, I could easily adapt to working at the University of Washington. Was I wrong.
As liberal as Seattle, Washington is, there is that glib bigotry and racism that rears its ugly head, especially in biomedical science. I was told, I was too loud, too boisterous, too--too much. When I did the research and organized it to the level I thought it should be based on the review of the literature I made, I was told, I did it incorrectly that I did not know anything. When I set up for experiments and gleaned results, then presented them for review, the feedback I got was, I did not know what I was talking about and what I tested was faulty...What I studied was metabolism in a genetically altered mouse that prematurely ages, called WRN knockout mice. What I did was simple, add a horrific high fat/high sugar diet called Surwit, let them eat it and test their blood sugar and weigh them for 60 weeks. The aging mice got fatter than the normal mice. Pretty simple. But so many questions to test. These ARE EARLY DATA that have been now modified with statistical calculations - such as ANOVA. The last piece of data remains unpublished said it was not useful.
Then I was told, that after I wrote the paper, edited and reviewed it 1000 times, that no one was going to read the paper and that the research failed. Then my funds were cut and I could not get more funding. At that point I moved from my frying pan, I joined a laboratory that treated me inhumanely, dehumanized me and mocked my knowledge. I left taking the hit from the National Institutes of Health demanding their money back for lack of fulfilling my service.
Then I tried another position, where the professor would not write a letter conferring a job, then overspent the animal money budgeted because they did not know how to develop an experiment testing their animals. I had to euthanize 300+ mice in two days to hear I was getting fired. But that is not what made me leave... No... What made me leave was when the professor stated, "There no way a Black Man can become President in this country..." in a scientific laboratory meeting - that was 2008 since I worked for anyone else.
I applied to NUMEROUS other research positions, but the hiring of new researchers is by word of mouth and I was labeled. No one wanted to take the risk. I got disillusioned with the silliness and essentially moved my talents to the marketplace.
In 2008, I started my online social networking business with the license. It is my goal to make revenue so that I can pay my B&O taxes to the state. So far, I am not making anything. But at least I am under market scrutiny, rather than a scientific one, because let me tell you, what I have suffered, a Caucasian man would not suffer...
It is because I am an African American woman that boldly states what I know in Biomedical Science.
Long time ago, I set up a "Google Alert" for when my papers would be cited by other researchers. The paper never to be read has been cited ELEVEN times. Here is my paper below:
2008 Moore et al. Premature Aging Mice Fed Surwit Have Diabetes
My paper was recently cited by this group:
Michel Lebel, Nadja C. de Souza-Pinto, and Vilhelm A. Bohr
Review Article
Metabolism, Genomics, and DNA Repair in the Mouse Aging Liver
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Marriage and Mental Health and Wellness - my POV
Long story short, my husband and I eloped when we got married nearly 8 years ago. We were in love and who knew it would last this long given my mental health condition. I knew I had found my "missing piece"! And I hoped he had found his, too.
I am dealing with a bipolar type 2 diagnosis, hypomania. I manage it with medications and therapy. If I change it on my own volition, which I have done before and I say I do not need either of those treatment options, within two months I am "out of control" - sobbing, impulsive, fighting, disheveled, no one can talk to me, nothing sinks in, and my ability and freedom to make quality choices about my wellness is impaired. If I want to stay married to a good man, I do not deviate from my current treatment plan.
The issue with the general public's opinion on mental health and wellness is that it is a choice that people like me make. I really wish it were that simple. I wish I I could CHOOSE NOT to feel the way that I do. That I would not have to take medications, hide from the mental health stigma and not have to see a therapist. But I know that if I do not, this condition will worsen to fainting spells, memory loss and suicide ideation.
I get these interesting emails from Smart Marriages: The Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education
is dedicated to making marriage education widely available. They have a "newsletter" still sent by email -- tidbits to stay married, marriage enrichment, and family support during trying times. These days with a poor economy and so many people out of work, such as myself for greater than 3 years, these are truly trying times for a marriage and its longevity.
One of the Smart Marriage's newsletter authors posted this ignorance about mental health and wellness (verbatim original context):
Ouch, I really stepped on a live wire with the post about the book, The Emperor’s New Clothes (that “explodes the antidepressant myth”). I APOLOGIZE to those who were offended by my promotion of this book – who wrote to say antidepressants have literally saved their lives and/or the lives of loved ones and/or their marriages. I send my SYMPATHIES to those who, on the other end of the continuum, feel they have basically lost long stretches of their lives, their loved ones, their marriages because of the side-effects of antidepressant treatment. And, I also STAND very much CORRECTED by those who reminded me and quoted myself back to me – that I have always maintained that Smart Marriages is focused on increasing access to Marriage Education and that we don’t have the time or energy to wade into other battles and campaigns. It turns out that antidepressants are as divisive a topic as any you can name – abortion, gun control, vaccines, immigration, etc. – there are as many blogs, websites, bumper-stickers in the antidepressant pro and con campaigns as any other. Several of you also pointed out that this book is not, by far, anything new – there are many books that rail against “legal drug pushers - people licensed by the govt and paid huge incentives by the billion dollar pharma industry to push antidepressants.” You said if I want to blow the whistle, blow it about the 10’s of millions of children being put on antidepressants. (Hmmmm, 10s of millions?) And one of you wrote that I should consider myself blessed that I’ve not (yet) felt the need for antidepressants. Some of you said I could use your letters and your names, including your diagnosis and suicide attempts. I don’t think that’s necessary. I get it. And, as I said, my apologies and I do stand corrected. - diane
This is not the first time that Smart Marriages has sent emails filled with insensitive vitriol. In fact, this newsletter is about the only misinformed "marriage related" without peer reviewed scientific research literature base. It is nice to have "tidbits" that a user can decide to accept or not accept, but to cyberbully by fear tactics is irresponsible, especially when it involves the issue of HEALTH CARE -- specifically, MENTAL HEALTH CARE!
Why?
Because the brain is an organ, too. It can get sick like any other organ, heart, liver, lungs, muscles, blood, etc. Would the same cruel and mean-spirited comments be made to someone who suffered from a heart attack, stroke or cancer? Then why are they being said to someone who is dealing with and managing a mental HEALTH condition?
Through my own trials and tribulations in my marriage, and developing a "wellness recovery action plan" or "WRAP" by Mary Ellen Copeland, I have discovered, that to keep my marriage with my husband, he needs to be trained in true medical caregiving or what is now called "attending". The idea of a physical health issue, like Alzheimer's Caregiving can be adapted to Mental Health Caregiving.
My husband needs to know how to handle me on good days and bad days. The good days when I seem fun to be around, but wait - is it over the top? Are they manic like? When I am asked about my thinking or process, do I have one? Because if I do not, I am in the process of setting myself up for failure that can spiral me into a depression down the road. There are tactics one can learn from Caregiving to minimize and communicate to me as to what it is I am doing: i.e. when is the last time I have communicated with my psychiatrist, etc.?
On my bad days, which are looking more like forgetfulness and impatience, and then the "water works" start, he needs to learn some tactics that can keep him sane. Thes tactics I cannot teach him, nor are they in a book. These are tactics that are trial and error and learned through resourcing. What he would be doing is consulting with a professional resource so he can be better equipped to handle me if and when I am unmanageable. It is liken to patient who suffers from lung problems and his or her breathing becomes belabored requiring a nebulizer - what does the caregiver do when that happens? The professional resource SHOWS him or her what to do! In my husband's case, he actually does know how to deal with a nebulizer, but he does not know for a mental illness.
Lastly and most importantly, he needs to know how to take care of himself. When it feels to him like he is in over his head and what can he do to relay that to me, so that I HEAR him. He deserves to be honest with me. Because I know, caregivers do get exhausted and want their own lives. And I think there are some good methods that couples can develop to handle that. In fact, I think it is one of the most personal and creative ways that a married couple can manifest -- it is the "what makes this work" in our own marriage.
My husband is a wonderful man. He is very understanding, patient and kind. And with my bipolar issue, which I still have a tough time letting it get the best of me, he has supported me, in all my endeavors while we have been married. I appreciate and thank him for that. Lately, I have gone to my providers and started asking questions if my health regimen requires changing, and it did. I can just tell there is a difference and it is not placebo. Yet, I am suffering from physical pains, which may be a sign of many other things. But the one thing that keeps me afloat, is when I see my husband's smile that he feels like he is doing "right" by me.
Mental health in a marriage requires:
- Health caregiver support just like other health conditions.
- Research and best practice training can be clinically developed to enrich marriages
- There can be a spiritual component, similar to that seen in Hospice if desired.
- Lastly, if we are about removing stigma, ignorances must be deflected by "laymen talking points" and advertised on all media channels with experts, rather than incivility.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Don't try to talk sense to a fool; he can't appreciate it... Proverbs 23:9
Don't try to talk sense to a fool; he can't appreciate it... Proverbs 23:9
When I grew up every Sunday, at my family's breakfast table, we all had to recite a Bible Verse. Most of the time, when I was young, I would say, "Jesus Wept" or "God is Love". As I got older and started to read the Bible more with studies, I learned of this verse, Proverbs 23:9. I guess I was ~14-15 years old and growing into myself, with my own ideas. And felt the oppression of being a teen, a woman, and Black all at one time. This was in the early-1980's - BC - Before Cosby, Before Computers.
What struck me about this verse was the fact that there is no reason why we need to argue about our beliefs other than to announce them and provide clarification. People do not need to sway our thoughts one way or another if we have faith in God, shown in Jesus Christ. Why do I need to convince anyone of my convictions? But when I was a young person, I did not see it that. I saw it as alienating the group that I wanted to like me. And more often than not, that group was living life on the edge - doing drugs, carousing, skipping school, etc.
Fortunately, I had my Sunday breakfast Bible Verse recitation, that was more afraid of failing than those young people in the "fast lane" in Southern California. Having those kids hate me and spread vicious rumors about me at school was less fearing than not having my Bible Verse ready. It was not so much the admonishment I got from my folks, it was more disrespectful I showed to God that I feared.
I have been on Social Media for quite a while. And these days the civility of conversation, no matter how inane it can be is degenerated by disrespectful and unmindful people. Basically, their parents did not teach these young people basic social manners and etiquette. Some of the statements that are made are so severe it attacks people at their core being. Having read an article on Newsweek about how inundated we are with information, the multi-tasking is exacerbating our brain inability for effective decision making. We humans have never been this barraged with information at our finger tips and our prefrontal cortex is unable to keep up with the demands, so it decides the quickest and quantified route versus the creatively thought out, planned and qualified route to the best decision. It is that age-old "instant gratification, microwave thinking".
Then, after we make our decisions, we are uncomfortable with it and commiserate with our "social groups" online about how we could have chosen "better". And sometimes, there is a "troll" who like to be the fly in the ointment mentality and harasses to dominate and usually, it feels I am the target, but I know I am not the only one. That which I describe is called cyberbullying.
How to minimize interacting with cyberbullying is by:
It is not so much them asking me challenging questions, but the Ad Hominem logical fallacies or "name calling" are a "dead giveaway". The descriptive terms about my "avatar" or who and what I say I am. My avatar could be a pile of cow dung and I would get called "shit head"... I say I am Black Woman and I get called a "nigger bitch"... The minute name calling happens, any logical discussion has ended.
Another one is domination of direction of the conversation. Maybe just talking about the weather and it is one thing to not how it is horrific or nice it is in various places. But the conversation ends for me when someone unknown to me tells me I "should" be _______________ (fill in the blank). There are several logic fallacies that are in play here. Psychologically, this "should" conversation is about "power and control" ant the person doling out the domination is usually out of control and seeking to take power from whomever will give him or her a chance. The minute "shoulds" start happening, I say "bless your heart" and walk away, which is very difficult to do.
Over the years, my memory has started to fade and I had forgotten that lone Bible Verse of my youth. Then one day, I was cyberbullyed on Facebook and the verse just popped into my mind. Now, we have "Google" search engines and immediately it appeared with cross references of all the Christian denominational Bible texts. I like the present one the most because it is very simple and easy for all to understand.
The minute the following was shared, the person was harassed. Some of the comments have been deleted and the identities have been redacted.
The point is for this mundane non-critical amount of silliness, is that the commentators need say nothing if they disagree with the statement. Afterward there were several posts made about the verse not on the feed and the person who posted the verse was "unfriended" by quite a few people, which Facebook tracks.
Why were they offended to unfriend someone sharing some information, regardless of its source?
I think it is because they never knew the Christian Bible had that information and if they kept their uncivilized behavior, they would be seen as unappreciative and the speaker who is being nice, by choice, finds them a waste of time...
But there is another facet here: pleasant dinner table conversations with sociality or a deipnosophist, would keep the lively nature of the conversation and would not waste people's time, lest they would be seen as a fool... Usually for someone to keep the attentions of court there were stories that were told, rather than argumentative emotional behaviors.
These kinds of casual conversations often did make political policy in high court. That is why it was called etiquette. But a whole generation has not been reared with that mentality and it shows on Social Media. Moreover, the neurological effects caused by social media are just been completed and what is found has mixed results. It is a good way to maintain sociality until addiction sets in, then the communication deficits come in at play without common human face to face interactions.
What to do about that? I no longer have private personal conversations in chat or instant message rooms unless I have seen an interaction on my public feed for a month without altercations. I also have a "tire kicker" rule that I set for myself. If I say the sky is blue and some disagrees with me and challenges me, they have 5-10 posts to get to the validity of their point, then I cease interaction, either by unfriending them or block.
Belligerent and hurtful posts have immediate screenshots and posted on a blog indicating the offense, especially if the person is unknown.
It works sometimes. I makes me feel better in the long run to keep myself in control and make my social media experience positive. I keep my social media strategies for myself and my business and the interesting part is, I have been praying to God to grab a hold of me...
When I least expected it, He was right there... And this time it was a reminder...
When I grew up every Sunday, at my family's breakfast table, we all had to recite a Bible Verse. Most of the time, when I was young, I would say, "Jesus Wept" or "God is Love". As I got older and started to read the Bible more with studies, I learned of this verse, Proverbs 23:9. I guess I was ~14-15 years old and growing into myself, with my own ideas. And felt the oppression of being a teen, a woman, and Black all at one time. This was in the early-1980's - BC - Before Cosby, Before Computers.
What struck me about this verse was the fact that there is no reason why we need to argue about our beliefs other than to announce them and provide clarification. People do not need to sway our thoughts one way or another if we have faith in God, shown in Jesus Christ. Why do I need to convince anyone of my convictions? But when I was a young person, I did not see it that. I saw it as alienating the group that I wanted to like me. And more often than not, that group was living life on the edge - doing drugs, carousing, skipping school, etc.
Fortunately, I had my Sunday breakfast Bible Verse recitation, that was more afraid of failing than those young people in the "fast lane" in Southern California. Having those kids hate me and spread vicious rumors about me at school was less fearing than not having my Bible Verse ready. It was not so much the admonishment I got from my folks, it was more disrespectful I showed to God that I feared.
I have been on Social Media for quite a while. And these days the civility of conversation, no matter how inane it can be is degenerated by disrespectful and unmindful people. Basically, their parents did not teach these young people basic social manners and etiquette. Some of the statements that are made are so severe it attacks people at their core being. Having read an article on Newsweek about how inundated we are with information, the multi-tasking is exacerbating our brain inability for effective decision making. We humans have never been this barraged with information at our finger tips and our prefrontal cortex is unable to keep up with the demands, so it decides the quickest and quantified route versus the creatively thought out, planned and qualified route to the best decision. It is that age-old "instant gratification, microwave thinking".
Then, after we make our decisions, we are uncomfortable with it and commiserate with our "social groups" online about how we could have chosen "better". And sometimes, there is a "troll" who like to be the fly in the ointment mentality and harasses to dominate and usually, it feels I am the target, but I know I am not the only one. That which I describe is called cyberbullying.
How to minimize interacting with cyberbullying is by:
NOT TRYING TO TALK SENSE TO A FOOL... HE CANNOT APPRECIATE IT...
It is not so much them asking me challenging questions, but the Ad Hominem logical fallacies or "name calling" are a "dead giveaway". The descriptive terms about my "avatar" or who and what I say I am. My avatar could be a pile of cow dung and I would get called "shit head"... I say I am Black Woman and I get called a "nigger bitch"... The minute name calling happens, any logical discussion has ended.
Another one is domination of direction of the conversation. Maybe just talking about the weather and it is one thing to not how it is horrific or nice it is in various places. But the conversation ends for me when someone unknown to me tells me I "should" be _______________ (fill in the blank). There are several logic fallacies that are in play here. Psychologically, this "should" conversation is about "power and control" ant the person doling out the domination is usually out of control and seeking to take power from whomever will give him or her a chance. The minute "shoulds" start happening, I say "bless your heart" and walk away, which is very difficult to do.
Over the years, my memory has started to fade and I had forgotten that lone Bible Verse of my youth. Then one day, I was cyberbullyed on Facebook and the verse just popped into my mind. Now, we have "Google" search engines and immediately it appeared with cross references of all the Christian denominational Bible texts. I like the present one the most because it is very simple and easy for all to understand.
The minute the following was shared, the person was harassed. Some of the comments have been deleted and the identities have been redacted.
The point is for this mundane non-critical amount of silliness, is that the commentators need say nothing if they disagree with the statement. Afterward there were several posts made about the verse not on the feed and the person who posted the verse was "unfriended" by quite a few people, which Facebook tracks.
Why were they offended to unfriend someone sharing some information, regardless of its source?
I think it is because they never knew the Christian Bible had that information and if they kept their uncivilized behavior, they would be seen as unappreciative and the speaker who is being nice, by choice, finds them a waste of time...
But there is another facet here: pleasant dinner table conversations with sociality or a deipnosophist, would keep the lively nature of the conversation and would not waste people's time, lest they would be seen as a fool... Usually for someone to keep the attentions of court there were stories that were told, rather than argumentative emotional behaviors.
These kinds of casual conversations often did make political policy in high court. That is why it was called etiquette. But a whole generation has not been reared with that mentality and it shows on Social Media. Moreover, the neurological effects caused by social media are just been completed and what is found has mixed results. It is a good way to maintain sociality until addiction sets in, then the communication deficits come in at play without common human face to face interactions.
What to do about that? I no longer have private personal conversations in chat or instant message rooms unless I have seen an interaction on my public feed for a month without altercations. I also have a "tire kicker" rule that I set for myself. If I say the sky is blue and some disagrees with me and challenges me, they have 5-10 posts to get to the validity of their point, then I cease interaction, either by unfriending them or block.
Belligerent and hurtful posts have immediate screenshots and posted on a blog indicating the offense, especially if the person is unknown.
It works sometimes. I makes me feel better in the long run to keep myself in control and make my social media experience positive. I keep my social media strategies for myself and my business and the interesting part is, I have been praying to God to grab a hold of me...
When I least expected it, He was right there... And this time it was a reminder...
Don't try to talk sense to a fool; he can't appreciate it...
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Here is what I am doing in this bad job market/economy
I am writing this blog here because on all the other blogs I keep, this one seems best. I get these kinds of messages from people all over, but mainly in the United States -- (Redacted to protect the innocent):
I have no job. No one pays me anything in the State of Washington. I was on unemployment when the United States Congress decided to behave funny with my chances for money that I felt was owed to me. And at that time, I was job searching through the computer without any responses. I am married and I have no children. I have a doctorate in Molecular Genetics and I have various skill sets that include the following:
Health Promotion
Health and Wellness Coaching
Grief and Bereavement Follow up
Certified Mental Health Peer Counselor
Here is how I am a benefit and opportunity:
I am a business owner who promotes online mental health can wellness resources through Social Media, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs for diverse populations. What I have found is many diverse populations hear the message, but the Social Determinants of Health prevents them from optimizing the use of care in their communities.
What that means is, how can you tell a teenager that they need to have the "power of positive thinking" when they live in squalor? That is not helpful. What they need is a "wrap-around plan" with several professionals assisting them. These professionals can be chosen by the young person that they feel best can aid them to their goal with the assistance of a Peer Support Counselor or Coach...
I am that Peer Support Counselor and Coach... Because most young people are online. I have refrained from giving my services online due to the privacy restrictions, but I find myself using all that I have been taught in Coaching and Peer Support, such as Motivational Interviewing, Brainstorming and Appreciative Inquiry that allows the person self efficacy or the knowledge and belief that they can do it...
Lamenting about how bad life is for me without an economic future, I would rather present to you, my readership on the other activities involved in my business.
The Ari | af | ya Universe is the overarching business that supports science and mental health and wellness online.
There are now four divisions:
Sistah Mental Health and Wellness - the Online Mental Health Support and Resource Group
GYM Right - Get Your Mind Right Health and Wellness Coaching by Teleconferencing
Mental Health Angel Investment Group - for professionals in how best to care for diverse populations online
The last one is the most exciting one for me and I have spent quite a bit of my time and talent:
Isle Sanctuary Artistic Division - We tell stories on Social Media. When one commits his or herself to their best self-care, art and creativity can improve one's self-esteem to manage dealing with a mental health issue. We do management online.
Moreover, at the Isle Sanctuary Artistic Division, we can help in pre-production of script scenes by roleplaying the parts out online, then provide metrics to show the efficacy of moving forward to full production and audience generation. The best way to describe what we do when we perform is that it is like a 1940 radio show, but now the radio is Social Media... And it is not just acting and dialogue, it is getting into the milieu of your audience in a character's voice, answering questions, performing the scenes with some level of directed improvisation and supporting one's fan base. Social Media users psychologically relate and connect with people in that manner and telling and performing stories is something they watch on all platforms.
We also use graphic and concept artists, social media developers, web and blog content creators, actors, producers and directors.
Any outsider who wishes to test their script, minimum cost is $5000 for one performance with "EnActors", online social media accounts and blogs, domain name, emails and programming. Please inquire at the site below for your pre-qualification review, today!
Isle Sanctuary Artistic Division
When someone asks what it is that I am doing for myself, these are the tasks I am building through my business.
Edited to add this spot: The father gets another job rejection letter. So in front of his 8 month-old son, he tears the letter and this is what the baby does:
If we can all have the perspective of this baby...
Thank you for reading this blog
I need a money miracle! I had to fire my babysitter two weeks before Christmas, 2010 because she was taking my kids to unsafe places, then I ended up losing my job. Now, I am drowning in debt and not sure what to do... I have my diploma to council kids who have emotional/behavioral issues but there is absolutely nothing in this town is available...
I have no job. No one pays me anything in the State of Washington. I was on unemployment when the United States Congress decided to behave funny with my chances for money that I felt was owed to me. And at that time, I was job searching through the computer without any responses. I am married and I have no children. I have a doctorate in Molecular Genetics and I have various skill sets that include the following:
Health Promotion
Health and Wellness Coaching
Grief and Bereavement Follow up
Certified Mental Health Peer Counselor
Here is how I am a benefit and opportunity:
I am a business owner who promotes online mental health can wellness resources through Social Media, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs for diverse populations. What I have found is many diverse populations hear the message, but the Social Determinants of Health prevents them from optimizing the use of care in their communities.
What that means is, how can you tell a teenager that they need to have the "power of positive thinking" when they live in squalor? That is not helpful. What they need is a "wrap-around plan" with several professionals assisting them. These professionals can be chosen by the young person that they feel best can aid them to their goal with the assistance of a Peer Support Counselor or Coach...
I am that Peer Support Counselor and Coach... Because most young people are online. I have refrained from giving my services online due to the privacy restrictions, but I find myself using all that I have been taught in Coaching and Peer Support, such as Motivational Interviewing, Brainstorming and Appreciative Inquiry that allows the person self efficacy or the knowledge and belief that they can do it...
Lamenting about how bad life is for me without an economic future, I would rather present to you, my readership on the other activities involved in my business.
The Ari | af | ya Universe is the overarching business that supports science and mental health and wellness online.
There are now four divisions:
Sistah Mental Health and Wellness - the Online Mental Health Support and Resource Group
GYM Right - Get Your Mind Right Health and Wellness Coaching by Teleconferencing
Mental Health Angel Investment Group - for professionals in how best to care for diverse populations online
The last one is the most exciting one for me and I have spent quite a bit of my time and talent:
Isle Sanctuary Artistic Division - We tell stories on Social Media. When one commits his or herself to their best self-care, art and creativity can improve one's self-esteem to manage dealing with a mental health issue. We do management online.
Moreover, at the Isle Sanctuary Artistic Division, we can help in pre-production of script scenes by roleplaying the parts out online, then provide metrics to show the efficacy of moving forward to full production and audience generation. The best way to describe what we do when we perform is that it is like a 1940 radio show, but now the radio is Social Media... And it is not just acting and dialogue, it is getting into the milieu of your audience in a character's voice, answering questions, performing the scenes with some level of directed improvisation and supporting one's fan base. Social Media users psychologically relate and connect with people in that manner and telling and performing stories is something they watch on all platforms.
We also use graphic and concept artists, social media developers, web and blog content creators, actors, producers and directors.
Any outsider who wishes to test their script, minimum cost is $5000 for one performance with "EnActors", online social media accounts and blogs, domain name, emails and programming. Please inquire at the site below for your pre-qualification review, today!
Isle Sanctuary Artistic Division
When someone asks what it is that I am doing for myself, these are the tasks I am building through my business.
Edited to add this spot: The father gets another job rejection letter. So in front of his 8 month-old son, he tears the letter and this is what the baby does:
If we can all have the perspective of this baby...
Thank you for reading this blog
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Superbowl 45 & the Neurocommerciality of #Brandbowl
The Superbowl between The Green Bay Packers and The Pittsburgh Steelers was washed in what could be bought and sold in the best liquid detergent on the market! The one that can change your mind and tell you what your wants are.
The word on the Twitter-street, was the Dallas folks had trouble getting people there due to the inclement weather. Dallas Fort Worth area had one of the worst Ice Storms it has had in a long time, pretty much making it tough to move around in the Metroplex. So they were giving ticket to VIPs willing to break necks to slip and slide.
This Superbowl was spent in house by the sidebars in homes and shared in the Tweets. The abusive tweets had not come out until we were closer to halftime when people could take breaks and pig out on the typical foodstuffs as seen on TV. Yes, we know advertisers can connect to a mass of people rapidly. The one thing they failed to connect is the social media world that is GLOBAL! And we see global unrest that do not share our sense of passion.
America was SOLD to an unappreciative group of people. Who they are, we do not know. But the patriotic pre-game show was tempered when the key headliner who sang the United States National Anthem by Christina Aguliera when she missed the "O'er ramparts we watch" line during her oversinging rendition...
Sad part NO ONE of the hate-filled "dramaticons" picked up on that until us thinkers realized what she missed.
The commercials of the Superbowl 45 are shown here.
There were many I enjoyed. Of course I have a preference for this one:
The Little Darth Vader Volkswagon Commercial...
The game we all know is not as stellar as we see in the regular season. So they must make their money by the draw. Then when they have crazy weather and excellent headliners such as the Black Eyed Peas who needs to have the entire sound team fired, because none of the music could not be heard clearly, the performance of their show was music that the old guard is unaccustomed to hearing... People do what to SEE A SHOW, like old school...
They can sing, they have good songs, but on stage presentation lacked excitement compared to other staged shows I have seen.
Until Usher came out who does similar moves as the late Michael Jackson. And he messed up by spinning the wrong way...
To say this was NOT a political game made by the Murdoch's minions would be an understatement.
From the pre-game show of "traditions" one that I have never seen before, to the commercials, to the half-time show, it was disturbing. Why sway people over a football game? Who made that market strategy? And there are no laws that govern that except marketplace... And more often than not that always leaves the little guy out. But see the little guy often reproduces more and will overtake the fat cats for an uprising.
Well as my husband said, at least they did bring back young people to halftimes show versus the Janet Jackson fiasco years ago.
All the announcers except 1 were wearing purple. Who made that wardrobe malfunction is beyond me.
So in the second half of the game, during the commercials, the only deep commercial was Chrysler's Detroit Hardness. Gritty. Many people related to it and coming up from nothing.
There was a Groupon commercial that many people found tasteless. I am glad I missed that one.
There were a few other commercials in brand bowl
It looks like the neuropsychiatric commercialism came out too early to make decisive results in the amounts of money spent on each ad.
The better ads were one that used social and corporate responsibility to express what it is that they want people to buy.
Unfortunately, an ad that shows a Camero still subjugates women.
Anyhow, there are interesting movies and shows coming up.
The word on the Twitter-street, was the Dallas folks had trouble getting people there due to the inclement weather. Dallas Fort Worth area had one of the worst Ice Storms it has had in a long time, pretty much making it tough to move around in the Metroplex. So they were giving ticket to VIPs willing to break necks to slip and slide.
This Superbowl was spent in house by the sidebars in homes and shared in the Tweets. The abusive tweets had not come out until we were closer to halftime when people could take breaks and pig out on the typical foodstuffs as seen on TV. Yes, we know advertisers can connect to a mass of people rapidly. The one thing they failed to connect is the social media world that is GLOBAL! And we see global unrest that do not share our sense of passion.
America was SOLD to an unappreciative group of people. Who they are, we do not know. But the patriotic pre-game show was tempered when the key headliner who sang the United States National Anthem by Christina Aguliera when she missed the "O'er ramparts we watch" line during her oversinging rendition...
Sad part NO ONE of the hate-filled "dramaticons" picked up on that until us thinkers realized what she missed.
The commercials of the Superbowl 45 are shown here.
There were many I enjoyed. Of course I have a preference for this one:
The Little Darth Vader Volkswagon Commercial...
The game we all know is not as stellar as we see in the regular season. So they must make their money by the draw. Then when they have crazy weather and excellent headliners such as the Black Eyed Peas who needs to have the entire sound team fired, because none of the music could not be heard clearly, the performance of their show was music that the old guard is unaccustomed to hearing... People do what to SEE A SHOW, like old school...
They can sing, they have good songs, but on stage presentation lacked excitement compared to other staged shows I have seen.
Until Usher came out who does similar moves as the late Michael Jackson. And he messed up by spinning the wrong way...
To say this was NOT a political game made by the Murdoch's minions would be an understatement.
From the pre-game show of "traditions" one that I have never seen before, to the commercials, to the half-time show, it was disturbing. Why sway people over a football game? Who made that market strategy? And there are no laws that govern that except marketplace... And more often than not that always leaves the little guy out. But see the little guy often reproduces more and will overtake the fat cats for an uprising.
Well as my husband said, at least they did bring back young people to halftimes show versus the Janet Jackson fiasco years ago.
All the announcers except 1 were wearing purple. Who made that wardrobe malfunction is beyond me.
So in the second half of the game, during the commercials, the only deep commercial was Chrysler's Detroit Hardness. Gritty. Many people related to it and coming up from nothing.
There was a Groupon commercial that many people found tasteless. I am glad I missed that one.
There were a few other commercials in brand bowl
It looks like the neuropsychiatric commercialism came out too early to make decisive results in the amounts of money spent on each ad.
The better ads were one that used social and corporate responsibility to express what it is that they want people to buy.
Unfortunately, an ad that shows a Camero still subjugates women.
Anyhow, there are interesting movies and shows coming up.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
The Seeds That Needed To Be Sown... #StarWars #RP #SocialMedia
Read the PDF here >> "The Seeds That Needed To Be Sown..."
We shall see if they germinate...
Visit us at the Isle Sanctuary Artistic Division which is part of The Ari | af | ya Universe...
We shall see if they germinate...Visit us at the Isle Sanctuary Artistic Division which is part of The Ari | af | ya Universe...
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
A revisited concept of Cain vs Abel & #mental #health #career
1Adam knew his wife Eve intimately, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, "I have had a male child with the LORD's help." 2Then she also gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel became a shepherd of a flock, but Cain cultivated the land. 3In the course of time Cain presented some of the land's produce as an offering to the LORD. 4And Abel also presented [an offering — some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he was downcast. 6Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you furious? And why are you downcast? 7If you do right, won't you be accepted? But if you do not do right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must master it." 8Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
~Genesis 4:1-8
I am doing what I love... Telling and performing stories on social media as a new form of building artistry, creatively on major platforms with pre-defined business goals. I am "roleplaying" or RPing characters in a genre I love, Star Wars, in attempt to uplift non-canon to canon.What is so wrong with that? I have just been told I "mislead people" on my account. Although the profiles clearly say what it is I am doing, since people do not read what is not "eye catching" to them, they will not try. As a marketing ploy, I can make flashy signs, but then I will be called a "spammer". Who makes up these rules is beyond me. But rumors travel like wildfire with no editing or journalistic deference. The wave of the future.
The key is, do not respond. Refrain from engagement. It is what I call, the "NO Tire Kickers" rule. Give the "potential buyer" ~25 maximum engagements or lines of text, if they are serious about buying, they will, if not, go on to the next "buyer" and not waste valuable marketing resources on anyone unwilling to close the deal. The point is, you must move your product and wasting lines of Facebook Status or Tweets on someone only meant to argue with you using logic fallacies is a waste of valuable time. Ignore, unfollow or block... That is the only recourse.
Why? Because I fell into the trap. Greed was my problem. I assessed greater potential into someone else that reaching out to a potential buyer who actually offers more loyalty and promise to the nature of my business and my goals. I wasted valuable marketing resources. And in these tough economic times, every minute counts.
So why bring up Cain and Abel?
The Biblical story is roughly about two brothers, older vs younger, where Cain the older kills his brother Abel the younger out of jealousy because Abel's offering to God was more favored.
It got me thinking. What was the difference between the offerings? One was the bountiful harvest from Cain, and the other was the flock, animal and living gift from Abel. God liked the flock, animal and living gift more. Why?
The scholars have listed every reason why. May I suggest and revelation I had. It is about career and work. The jobs situation is horrific right now in the United States. Many people are out of work, desperately seeking employment. Some have given up searching. I am one of those. Hence, I choose not to seek unemployment benefits because, I know the kind of job that I am qualified to do, I never want to go back there and do it, ever again. It is one thing is I had no education to speak on this, but I have a doctorate in Molecular Genetics, published scientific papers in scientific journals. Can discuss hardcore science with the best and the brightest minds and I have been reduced to playing around on social media?
BUT I AM LOVING MY LIFE!!! I SPEND HOURS HONING IN ON MY CRAFT!!! SOMETIMES I DO NOT GET TO BED UNTIL MORNING, AND MANY TIMES I STAY UP ALL DAY AND NIGHT!
Healthwise, that is not good, so I balance some of it. One goal is to slow it down a bit and ease up on the "all nighters". But ideas of roleplaying Star Wars, telling stories and performing them rush into mind and I have opened a flood gate! It will not close. My "geekitude" and "nerdgasms" explode! In the first time in my life, in a long time, I feel happy, complete and content...
And I give away my work to anyone who asks... I do this without making money because I love it so much. I do not know what it is or why it is like that, but I do know I have tapped into a "creative center" that has been atrophied for too long. If my fandom or fangirl out of control? Possibly! Do I really think I have a chance to make a non-canon Star Wars fan fiction into the canon through social media? Yes, I can...If I do not try, I have already failed. Everything else in my life I have done because I tried and if I fail at this, I still succeed because well, I am having fun even though I face failures--teachable moments and learning opportunities.
THAT thinking is a LONG WAYS AWAY from when I was a hardcore scientist: when I failed, I was miserable. I hated work. I hated people at work. I gained 20 pounds. My skin broke out in pustules. My hair was falling out. I was ugly physically and personality wise. I hated myself. I wanted to die. I love science to this day. I think good scientists are awesome. I spent a large portion of my teens to my thirties doing science and I am not bad at it. But the "offering" I was making to honor myself and "God" if you will, was BAD!
So this is my small, uneducated understanding of the Cain and Abel story, allegorically: When you work, you may do a good job and is sounds really well, but if you are not happy with it and hate doing it, you are a miserable person and it comes out in your work and your boss, superiors, supervisors and co-workers see that... You are like Cain...
Then you see young upstart, happy-go-lucky, have not a care in the world Abel, whose "workmanship" just comes naturally and every job s/he does is lauded and appraised because even during "failures", s/he learns from the mistakes and keeps going.
What happens to you, Cain, is you get jealous of happy Abel and you want nothing but to destroy Abel's chances of being successful at their career. You, Cain, dishonor yourself by tearing down Abel's creative approach to being "good steward" and provide a living offering to this life. A living offering that is in perpetuity--that is called "knowledge and education".
I was Cain in science. I did not share my data. I was paranoid that made me crazier until something inside me said "STOP" this is NOT who I want to be.
Then I met Abel, sometime in 2009, and while I was being lambasted for moving the wrong way, saying the wrong stuff, cyberbullied mercilessly, I am STILL having fun doing it.
I think I suppressed my creativity in High School for fear of being a starving artist. But look at me now? I am a highly educated unemployed PhD and guess what, I might become that starving artist, but I am living my life in content!
How far would I have gotten or would I have said the same thing about my life now if I became that artist? Or if I kept that creative edge up like I was suppose to?
My life's path is the way is suppose to be going...And I trust the process more...
If anyone reading this is out of work, unemployed and frustrated: Remember, being that angry for what it was is not going to get you where you need to go. Find the artistry to creatively tackle your problems whatever they may be to honor your "good workmanship" that give the living gift for all...
Peace and blessings!
To learn more about telling stories on social media, visit us at the Isle Sanctuary Artistic Division!
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