A Shamanic Perspective on Capitalism
I was born a Ayisyen (i.e., Haitian) in Belgium. I acquired my parents' nationality, and, in many ways, I was raised as a Haitian child, too, partly in Belgium and France, partly in Senegal, moving "back" to Haiti as a young adult.
Later on, as an adult living in Ayiti, it felt natural and easy for me to dive deep into the world of Vodou ceremonies, close encounters and intimate communications with spirits, and to embrace the underlying Shamanic mindset that honors the great mystery through which everything that exists on the visible and invisible dimensions is interconnected.
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Why Us? Why Now? Why here?
Our habitual dependence on, and fixation about money in American life-practices and society is increasing in strength. People of color are drinking the poisoned well water to their own, and our collective spiritual detriment.
When people of color tell our own stories, each story bestows this common remembrance: The driven aims and ventures encouraged by and for the benefit of those who have held power and who work at funding “progress” at the expense of all else in mind, will continue to fail at an unprecedented rate of acceleration. The fallen privileged will turn to us and ask for wisdom and guidance that we will have been positioned over many centuries of struggle to offer. And I think that, my dear family, is poetic equity, stability, growth, and justice, indeed. Just claiming it so feels healthy to me, just as my sharing with you holds out an opportunity for transformative healing for all of us, haves and have nots alike.
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Mis dos Mundos
When I look back on my memories on the city of Santiago, Chile in the 1960’s, every person in our little town really shared the same values because they reflected the cultural customs of our town. I call the values that we shared there the “colectivo,” (i.e., commonly held interests) mostly because the ways we were taught to act, the things we were taught to believe, and connections that endured in our community were a part of the fabric that wove us together and enhanced our lives, even when we were not aware that this way of our being drawn together was happening.
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To be or not too be
A lot of father’s were prevented from doing that because for their families to receive a small amount of financial support from the US government of get social services support, the man in the household was required by law not to live in their homes with their families. And that destabilized those families and their entire communities! My grandfathers didn’t have father’s that were present…for whatever reasons. Later in life, once I began to grow into who I would become, I understood the importance of a male figure being able to live in their household with their family members.
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Breathing Room
I did not start off in this country feeling like America was lucky to have me here. When I first arrived in DC, I do remember, however, being taken by seeing people from all over the world coming together.
In my Sudanese culture, if I have money, I can't abandon someone that is homeless in the street without sharing it and helping them. That would almost be unheard of! Community for us living in a personally owned home that is still connected to everyone else’s home. Families in our community live together in proximity. It's always been this way of being in our community of origin because we are people that are known for living with our extended families.
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On the Shoulders of Gigantes
My Mom has shared a lot with me and my sister about her youth and the struggle of being a Mexican American girl in a predominantly German town in Texas. As a girl, she knew she was being treated differently than her classmates. They liked her well enough but in public their differences were defined by others. When Mom was in junior high (middle school), she was invited to a friends birthday party that included a trip to see a movie at the Brauntex Theater – a segregated business where people of Mexican and African descent were relegated to the balcony.
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Faith and Money- One Immigrant’s Perspective
I am a 35-year old Pakistani American woman with a mundane job and a comfortable life. I attend a great church. Yet, I cannot say that I have ever thoughtfully or thoroughly considered faith and money, together. Though, I’ve put my money where my faith is many times, giving to causes and people that align with my values and religion, as I perceive them. I have also put a lot of stock in the power of money to ward off trouble and to provide for my needs and wants.
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