S o u l * I n c i t e s

This is my treasure trove of words, images, videos and sounds that inspire me. May they inspire you too.

[afrodesiacworldwide]

[jessehimself]

The Fire This Time: Claudia Rankine on Whiteness as a Brand

[sleepyhollowers]

Whiteness = Normality

That is exactly what is going on consciously and subconsciously on all fronts for those virulently resistant to Abbie Mills et al.

[soul-i-n-c-i-t-e-s]

One episode in which that dynamic was the most blatant was “Mama.” The ghost of Abby and Jen’s mentally ill mom shows up in this run-down house, and the three of them have this poignant conversation. Oh, and Ichabod and Hawley were there too, not to further any particular plot points, but to keep white viewers watching, since it was unthinkable to the showrunners that the predominantly white audience would be receptive to this profoundly beautiful and emotional moment between three Black women. 

It was so painfully awkward how they positioned those two white men in a  scene that had literally NOTHING to do with them. It was like the director was screaming “don’t change the channel! It’s a show for everyone, and by everyone we mean white people. This is not a “black” show. It just happens to have 3 Black actors at the moment, but don’t worry, we’ll keep the whiteness centered even when it’s not relevant to the storyline.”

[purplebuddhaproject]

http://ift.tt/1KZDX0T

[knowingsoul]

Awakenings.

[soul-i-n-c-i-t-e-s]

Wayne Dyer and Forgiveness

Wayne Dyer related anecdote: when my father died in 2005, I took his "everything journal" - the book of grocery lists, phone numbers, study notes, random inspirational quotes. As I perused his everything journal, I came across this statement: "There are no justified resentments. - Wayne Dyer"

First off, my father wrote that down in the 70s. I had no idea Dyer had been a public figure for that long. And I had no idea that my father was ever a fan of his. And I thought, ha, what a lie! My resentment of you is COMPLETELY justified LOL! Quit trolling me from the grave!

Over the years, I took it to mean that even if you're RIGHT about an injustice / injury / violation committed against you, it doesn't serve you to wallow in that righteous indignation and resentment. Better to be free than to be right, and forgiveness is the key to that freedom.

[eatmangoesnekkid]

[eatmangoesnekkid]

Root chakra lesson–You can’t begin to heal your other chakras until you have healed and harmonized your root. One loveliness, India !!

Grab your own ass because every experience has a root that bottoms-out within your own body! Rub your ass or attract a lover who will delightfully rub it for you without question or consideration for anything else!!! ((*waves to my gorgeous lover,“Coach”)) The more consistently you send your energy and attention to your chakras, the more you’ll find your buried ‘issues’ coming to the surface to be dealt with. It’s not always a pleasant experience to face these things, but don’t give up so quickly, for it will get brighter soon enough I promise. If you focus on healing those issues by sending them all manners of love (the highest harmony ever) and releasing those old thought patterns contained therein, then you are freeing up your chakras (or total body systems i.e. entire body) to function in a healthy, most pleasurable way. You’ve gotta move your pelvis and hips darlin’ in wild, ecstatic praise just simply because you are ALIVE with the potent, sublime capacity to do so. Like you in all your enchantment and charm have the divine freedom and liberty to do so. Bringing more light to your root alleviates constipation and irritability, and ignites more harmony, overall ease, feelings of safety, and greater clarity into your life, not to mention healthy skin too. –India Ame’ye, gently grabbing my ass per the usual. Toot, toot!!

I am the author of the charming bestseller, “You Look Like Something Blooming” ((Available now on Amazon))

[iwouldhaveyousmileagain]

(via 20 Ways to Tie a Head Scarf | Scarves.net)

[danielle-mertina]

Most girls are relentlessly told that we will be treated how we demand to be treated. If we want respect, we must respect ourselves. This does three things. Firstly, it gets men off the hook for being held accountable for how they treat women. And secondly, it makes women feel that the mistreatment and sometimes outright violence they face due to their gender is primarily their fault. And thirdly, it positions women to be unable to speak out against sexism because we are made to believe any sexism we experience would not have happened if we had done something differently. I cannot demand a man to respect me. No more than I can demand that anybody do anything. I can ask men to be nice to me. But chances are if I even have to ask he does not care to be nice. I can express displeasure when I’m not being respected. But that doesn’t solve the issue that I was disrespected in the first place. I can choose to not deal with a man once he proves to be disrespectful and/or sexist. But even that does not solve the initial problem of the fact that I had to experience being disrespected in the first place. As a young girl, I wish that instead of being told that I needed to demand respect from men that I had been told that when I am not respected by men that it’s his fault and not mine. But that would require that we quit having numerous arbitrary standards for what it means to be a “respectable” woman. It would mean that I am not judged as deserving violence based on how I speak, what I wear, what I do, and who I am.

excerpt from “FYI, I Cannot “Demand” Respect From Men so Stop Telling Me That!“ @ One Black Girl. Many Words.  (via daniellemertina)

Sword of Truth 

[paullewinart]

[afutureancient]

Fantastic art from  Paul Lewin

[quotethatshow]

[soulmeetsworld]

Louis C.K.

[blackisdivine-deactivated201507]

Blackout! These 3 ladies are taking over primetime ✊

[soph-okonedo]

Taraji P. Henson in ‘MIAMI’ Magazine’s March 2015 Spring Style Issue

[soul-i-n-c-i-t-e-s]

I'm glad I gave Empire a chance. What a thrilling show, and Henson is a force of nature!

[soul-i-n-c-i-t-e-s]

Ten Thoughts about Sleepy Hollow

1. I'm still reeling and in my feelings about Sleepy Hollow's amazing season finale. A few days before, I binge-watched the seven episodes of Empire. I've been a Scandal fan from day one when Olivia Pope and her Gladiators recovered a kidnapped baby. 

Empire is the flashy cool kid strutting through the cafeteria, while Sleepy Hollow is the quirky, nerdy cosplaying kid who's doing their own thing in the corner. Scandal is the class president whose family is on the executive committee of  Links, Boule and Jack and Jill. I love the fact that TV is in this golden age where Cookie, Abby, Jenny and Olivia all exist, in all their dynamism and multi-dimensionality. 

2. Bye Katrina! I think that the role was miscast and badly written. If they brought in an actress with greater range, I think they would have been more inspired to take her story somewhere interesting. I'm thinking of Mellie on Scandal, who was only supposed to be around for three episodes, but she brought so many layers in her acting. Meanwhile Katrina had two seasons to prove herself on SH and didn't really rise to the occasion. 

3. It would've been interesting to see what would've happened if: Katrina turned evil sooner and more gradually, the last two episodes of the seasons happened at the BEGINNING of the season, and the season ended with Molloch dying. I think that would've been more impactful. 

4. Capt. Irving as a double agent was an awesome move. He was great in that role. I hope Cynthia/Toni from Girlfriends and Macy/Rue from Hunger Games return next season.

5. Capt. Crane and Leftenant Mills. Let the BDSM fanfiction commence.

6. Ichabbie now possess the Magical Grimoire of Awesomeness. Which means they could time travel again if they wanted. Oh snap! I'd love to see an alternate future based on a choice they made back in the 1700's.

7. I was both relieved and cringing about how sanitized SH's version of 1781 was for Abby. There is NO way all those white people of that era would've had that much restraint toward an uppity negress like Abby (and wearing trousers! LOL). But I don't think I could stomach seeing how a woman like her would've REALLY been treated in 1781 without protection from a high-ranking white soldier like Crane. Speaking of which....

8. "You want her, buy her at auction." It was so painful and unseemly to see Abby in a position where she had literally ZERO agency. Crane's word was the ONLY thing standing in the way of her being enslaved/raped/killed. I don't think that most SH viewers really grasped the gravity of that.

9. I feel pretty confident that SH will be renewed. On the slight chance that it isn't, I would love for it to move to a channel like AMC, or even Netflix (like Orange is the New Black). I think AMC in particular (home of the Walking Dead) would be a GREAT fit, given the talks of SH moving to Atlanta for shooting.

10. I think this is the first time in my entire life that I've witnessed on TV a white man (actually a man of ANY color) kill a white woman to save a black woman (and the world as a whole, but particularly Abby). To see a black woman put on that kind of pedestal is...refreshing. 

[nowitallbegins]

She is the American dream.

Benjamin Franklin fangirling over Abbie Mills (via nowitallbegins)

[magicafropuffs-deactivated20260]

Ichabod: Who are you?

Abbie: Your future wife.

At least that’s how it went in my head.

[soul-i-n-c-i-t-e-s]

Abbie: You ready Captain?

Ichabod: Ready, Leftenant.

Let the fanfiction smut commence.

[a-burning-consuming-fire]

But that “Ready..Captain?” at the end? *wiggles eyebrows* I’m expecting lots of Captain/Lieutenant fics in the next week. Don’t disappoint me, fic writers!

[hookedonthemagic]

[soul-i-n-c-i-t-e-s]

TVLINE | Whose idea was it to make Ichabod’s birthday Abbie’s passcode?[Laughs] I really wanted that sequence to be painfully long, because I just thought seeing Ichabod Crane in that world, who’d...