There's a Redhouse over yonder...

My name is Jordan. I'm just an Afro-American raised in a Scottish household who grew up facinated by Japanese culture... I'm a father of an 18 year old, a human services worker an ex-jock and current nerd, a pretty good partner, a hiker, music lover, a writer of bad haikus, a book and film glutton, a half decent cook and a lover of all things "old school". Black pride, beautiful women and fine whiskey are my passions. I am fascinated by Buddhist philosophies but continuously fall short of adhearing to them. This blog is a way to remind myself that life is about more than the ten hours a day I spend serving the public. As Charlotte Bronte once said, "Happiness unshared can scarcely be called happiness". Or if you prefer, from Snoop Dog, "It ain't no fu-u-un if the homies can't ha-ave none". No photos are mine unless stated.

[jazzonthisday]

Sonny Rollins recorded Work Time #onthisday in 1955. The album includes performances by Ray Bryant, George Morrow, and Max Roach.

[technblog]

[seeselfblack]

No Longer Invisible: Women Veterans and Homelessness after Military Service 

Women veterans are the fastest-growing demographic of homeless veterans in America today. Far from being a well-understood phenomenon, most people would be hard-pressed to even include women veterans in the overall picture of veteran homelessness — or recognize their unique risk factors and survival strategies. There’s no solid sense of even how many women veterans are homeless, because the choices they make when they are experiencing unstable housing, such as sleeping on couches at friends’ and family’s homes until their welcome runs out, leaves them generally out of the federal count of and excluded from public notice or the resources that they and often their dependent children with them need. The recent six-part series in the Huffington Post aims to change that, by addressing their invisibility directly.

We also firmly believe in “changing the narrative” about who becomes homeless, and moving it away from a subject of pity and concern to one of empathy with the survivors, who are remarkable women with important stories to tell. If our only response is sympathy, we won’t actually succeed in making enough of a difference here. These women served alongside their brothers, and when they come home, they have their own integration issues, challenges and successes. They have their own stories, and these are worth hearing and affirming. In the series, we get to meet some of these remarkable women veterans and ideally realize just how common — not exotic — a stumble off the path into homelessness can be. There are many ways to get there, including the aftermath of the all-too-prevalent military sexual trauma (MST), and it doesn’t have to be chronic, long-term mental health issues or substance use and abuse that creates the problem. In fact, there’s a risk that if we consider homeless women veterans to be outliers, we will miss the awareness of just how common an experience this is for too many women veterans, not just once but multiple times over the course of their post-military lives….  continue reading HERE 

[jazminesullivan]

Stephanie Beatriz thought she wouldn’t be cast in Brooklyn Nine-Nine I was so happy to see a Latina [Melissa Fumero] on the show, but also so devastated because I knew… I knew there was not going to be any network that was going to cast both of us as ensemble leads on a show. So I cried a lot. And I was devastated. I showed a couple of friends at the time and I was like, *imitates crying* “I’m really happy for her but I really wanted that show.” Then it was like two days later that I got the call [that I was cast], and I was gobsmacked. I was like, “the world is fucking changing.” And it’s such a testament to the show that they cast both of us. And not only us, but also Terry Crews and Andre Braugher [two black men] in positions of power.

[afroscot]

Another reason to love that show!

[thebuddhistmind]

Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not.

Epictetus

[flyandfamousblackgirls]

[jazzonthisday]

[brianstowell]

[black-0rpheus]

“I sincerely believe we have the capacity to actually make this country great. There are enough people, there are enough believers out there, there are enough intelligent, empathetic souls out there that want good for the whole. I don’t know if it’ll happen in my lifetime, but I believe in time the pendulum will swing in the right direction.” Mahershala Ali for GQ Magazine

[khenti-renaissance]

https://renegadesofjazz-agogo.bandcamp.com/album/moyo-wangu

https://khenti-renaissance.tumblr.com/archive

[alexazabache]

Kandy, Sri Lanka 🇱🇰

[as-warm-as-choco]

AFRO SAMURAI / Official Art by Takashi Okazaki (part 2)

[jazzonthisday]

Legendary bebop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie was born 100 years ago #onthisday in 1917.

[ourwildways]

Men mountain by doug88888 on Flickr.

[jazzonthisday]

Art Tatum was born #onthisday in 1909.

[khenti-renaissance]

https://khenti-renaissance.tumblr.com/archive

[lazyyogi]

Nourishing Yourself with Mindfulness

So far we have been putting a lot of time and effort into becoming aware of our limiting aspects. How do we try to escape the moment? When do we rush? What are the tricks of our ego?

These are important things to be aware of but it is also equally important not to dwell on them. Simply to be able to recognize them when they are happening is enough.

Today try practicing Thich Nhat Hanh’s concept of nourishing yourself with mindfulness.

The Technique

There are a lot of things we withhold from ourselves until we meet our own mental standards. The biggest of these things that we hold back is self love. We are unwilling to love ourselves until that person in the mirror is more attractive, until we have a dreamy boyfriend/girlfriend, until we have more money or a better job, or until we have some hot new threads.

But nothing changes inwardly when those things happen. The joy and relief we feel when we get what we desire is nothing more than the release we haven’t been permitting ourselves to have.

Nourishing yourself with mindfulness is the technique for allowing yourself to feel as much peace and joy and love as possible in this moment. Mindfulness fosters an appreciation for wholeness and aliveness as opposed to focusing on specific forms.

The Practice

Take time to sit somewhere you love. It could be beneath a tree, by the ocean, or in your bedroom.

When we have a pain, for example, in our foot then we want that pain to leave. When it leaves, we feel relief. But if there were no pain in the first place, no relief is appreciated. We do not appreciate the time that we do not feel these things.

Having two working eyes, ears that aren’t clogged, nostrils that aren’t congested, lungs that breathe easily, so many things are here to be appreciated.

Sit comfortably and rest your attention on your breath.

Mentally repeat inwardly with each inhale/exhale:

“Breathing in, I am aware of [body part],

Breathing out, I smile to [body part].”

Do this with whatever parts of your body you wish. Or start with your feet and work your way up. Give yourself some love.

Then switch to:

“Breathing in, I am aware of my body.

Breathing out, I smile to my body.”

And do that for another few minutes. When your body feels full, relaxed, and happy, move onto this final part.

“Breathing in, I feel joyful.

Breathing out, I feel joyful.”

Go slowly with this technique and relish it. Savor the moments of mindfulness in which you permit yourself unrestrained love and peace without any judgement.

Feel free to substitute or alter any of these for words or things that you feel in touch with. Joyful can easily be changed to happiness, peace, or love.

Namaste, sangha. :)