My Blog-JOURNAL

The Season of Hope and Healing

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:05:06 -0500

Perhaps the only thing that makes one more creative than pure oils is love. I did a profile here: about.me/niamo and feel very good about making things happen by force of personality--loving living all the way.

Last Thursday morning I presented the second half of the workshop: Loving Living--Removing “I’m Not” and “I Can’t” Using Essential Oils at the: Piggyback’s Striver House in Harlem. For two-hours we reviewed holistic concepts many of the young men had never heard of, and used oils--the nine essentials--to demonstrate how you can think and feel differently. Next time I will spend more time encouraging the brothers to articulate just how the oils were making them feel. I also have a lot of research data to compile based on this venture into the direct-service rehab community.

Last Thursday evening I was pleased to recognize members of The HealMobile Team who came over for dinner and have been a part of the movement of healing themselves and their family and friends since the beginning. Jonathan made a wicked chili that was almost too hot. He also baked his famous bean pies with pecans and coconut and bananas. Everyone enjoyed those.

The weekend was spent reiki-ing my mother, who hasn’t been downstairs since Thanksgiving, and uncle, who is now in the hospital for his birthday. 12/18 he turned 91. I kissed him and his eyes lit up and he looked directly at his grandson . Then the knowing eyes retreated once again to the top of his head, as if in a bliss most were reading as too much pain. He is seeing something, I could tell.

On my second visit I held his feet, or rather touched the energy above his feet, to help calm and harmonize his transitioning. I also brushed the energy from his head to his toes and fluffed the chakras. Yes, I felt good even if he didn’t seem to feel it and my cousins felt bewildered watching me! They say he is rallying now. Certainly the dialysis hasn’t hurt him either.

Changing Gears on The HealMobile

Tue, 7 Dec 2010 14:05:00 -0500

It is still coming, and it is still taking quite some time. SOON I will have a new website and SOON I will be able to launch the Spiritual Warriors Guide businesses. With time, all things are possible. Things never happen for me unless they are REALLY right, so striving to upgrade http://HealMobile.com is no exception.

I should therefore not at all wonder why both houses have not sold in this very poor seller’s market. Or why quite a few people in my world seem to be going through extremely dire straits. Or why I have had trouble motivating myself to participate in essential oils as the saviors that they are for families.

Before I had a habit of saying the economic crises mirrors what the African American community has always been experiencing, and way before the market crash of 2008. The undercurrent of ever present under-employment is what I meant. Now, with the persistence of Not yet, Not yet, I am seeing this time as the perfect blend of stasis within currents of massive change. Lots of people going somewhere, even loud revving of engines, but not a lot of movement from A to B to Z. Kind of like the HealMobile logo. Quiet inside of swirls of movement.

So much do I want to change gears and get going!

I also just visited the dentist this morning and am weighing his words very closely. My bite is off, which is why it is hard to chew on my left side. Also, the shifted tooth may be pinching a nerve. Teeth issues that come up in dreams usually refer to speech--what must be said or the effects of what has been said. Life is a dream, and you get my point.

As I near retirement from City College of New York to embark on my new life as the HealMobile driver, the metaphor that comes to mind is, I’m biting my tongue. Not, Don’t bite your tongue; rather I MUST bite my tongue. I’ll continue to look at what I am choosing not to say and why. Meanwhile, I’ll go back to the dentist tomorrow to see if he can help me to straighten things out.

Moving on

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 07:12:40 -0500

Where did October go? No need to feel badly about what we miss or toooo good about what we gain--this is scripture. Everything is everything as our culture says and we intuitively know. I spent the month working with mother to set the stage for the next phase of our lives, in one household instead of two. So this has meant little time for promoting my business or completing the newest book in the Spiritual Warrior’s Guide series. It’s been mostly about the HealMobile parked over at Mom’s. I’ll admit I did a few videos about the HealMobile and the library talk Nov. 7th, and about Removing Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome Using Essential Oils (written with Shakira Abdul-Ali). And working to redo the website. Stuff that allowed me to stay pretty stationary frankly.

But I wasn’t asleep! I took a few photos of 167 William Street, Englewood NJ. Available for under 300K. Anyone interested please let me know at 201-966-1170. Sorry--the pix are from a phone mostly! Visit www.niamomuid.com and click on blog journal 11/15/10 to see the pix since you can’t on TheHealMobile.com (yet).

Positivity is Healing

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 12:14:41 -0400

Last night the 12th president of City College, Dr. Lisa Staiano-Coico, brought the house down and was given a standing ovation for her verve, sheer energy and determination to innovate and include all comers. She proclaimed, “We are ONE!” You know that got me to listening. And this proclamation was just an exclamation mark within a fulfilling speech introducing her values and priorities for City College to the audience sitting or standing riveted in the Great Hall.

NYS senator Robert Jackson, Harlem Chamber leader Lloyd Williams, and another politico who is a Latino AND attended CCNY spoke and shared. Of course the latter’s remarks were the corker, because he was an immigrant with no English and now is running things with the degree earned at CCNY. Dr. Muriel Petioni was called out by Williams, saying she keeps lying to people that she’s 96 years old. All this was a nice set-up for the new president, introduced by Provost Dan Lemons, who acknowledged the science career of the president’s husband Richard, who had taught for years at Sophie Davis.

For her part, Dr. Lisa called out Dr. Myra Brown Green, who she commissioned to replace the flags in the Great Hall. The new ones, which she explained represent a variety of ethnic backgrounds including Jamaican, Japanese, African and French, had everyone’s head turned to the back of the huge room, looking upwards as she pointed out the fleur-de-lis, ankh, and other symbols. I whispered to Dr. Len Jeffries, “See the sankofa!” Myra stood up after prodding. One or two other quilters who helped create the new flags also were acknowledged

Dr. Lisa also spoke about her initiative to enroll local high school students in CCNY and to donate children’s books to local community childcare centers. I was personally impressed with the beautiful bookplates artistically depicting the Shepard Hall spires, with blank lines for donors to sign their names underneath. What a great marketing concept. Some young child will remember City College because of this small evidence that their reading pleasure was thought of. Why do all this (and much I have left out)? Because City CARES, Dr. Lisa said, emphasizing the word repeatedly in case people didn’t get it.

Well, someone must have said City College does NOT care, hence these initiatives. I won’t go into that here except to say I may know at least one guilty person. Overall, to say people were wowwed would be an understatement. For a moment there I thought the church was going to say, Amen. I knew this might make some feel a tad uncomfortable and dismissed the thought.

When I asked what did he think, an alumnus who is also a supporter of a professorship said one word: “Wonderful!” He always has a quip that contains the answer you are seeking, and for which I usually have to keep digging. His one-word response told me she had made a deep impression on him.

When I finally got to speak to Dr. Lisa myself, I said, “Thank you for your energy, thank you for your spirit, thank you for your leadership and for not being afraid.” She said, her arms widening to the air, “What is there to be afraid of?” I don’t know if it was said, but the feeling was, ‘we’ve got to do this.’ She bowed several times in namaste style as we spoke. I told her I loved what she is doing but I do think I’m going to retire in January. She thanked me for who knows what.

We are proud to be associated with City College’s transformation and commitment to the largest New York community there is in the world of oneness, in this moment on these shores. Being with what IS.

Children and grandchildren

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 19:03:48 -0400

Towards peace and post-Ramadan, it is the children and grandchildren who get my attention. Sad to say it is sometimes divided. Focus is elusive as so much is pulling at my heart strings, begging to consume me unilaterally. I want badly to complete key projects and reach a key business goal, and the only things definitive are: I must retire from my job. And I must sell mom’s house and buy a new one.

...Am i praising God in every moment? I strive to. I even found a website called gratitude or something like that, and signed up. Now i have to visit my gmail address daily to get my appreciative reminders....

This HAS been a deeply powerful fast this year, and ended on a wonderfully high note yesterday at Mohammad’s in the Bronx, for our Submitter’s Eid (family-day celebration ending Ramadan). Gina is still in Africa, and I maintain that is why there was no cosi. Her sister is not too bad. It seems she will recover. The children and grands were in full effect and Aisha, recently married in Ghana, wore all white with an “Allah” bling necklace in silver. We howled. “Dis gurl love God eh!?” I got the chance to connect briefly with her twin Ahmed’s wife, who is from Honduras. Another pleasure to greet and trust we are in good hands as we go forward into the future. They just married and knew each other in middle (or high) school 9 years ago! couldn’t believe it. yes i could....

We took our grandchildren, Jonathan’s Najee, 4 and a half and my Brian or Lil B, 2 and a half. What great fun it is to push a mini-mack truck around like you own the world, and have this be why you exist, why you came, why you chose. I can only marvel at the favors of My Lord that I cannot deny.

Main benefits of this Ramadan:
• presencing my role as my mother’s child and how much i owe her--the only way to resolve the thorny issue of her ageing and long-term care is to take it on and have one household to hold us all.

• realizing the shaitan is “my own selfish desire” according to the translation Quran, As It Explains Itself.

• appreciating the blessing of the International Black Summit in this year’s declaration: BE with what IS. Since Ramadan began right after the Summit completed, I was looking at a bunch of warts and imperfections this Ramadan. be with what is....

• life is serious and important and fun, especially in its synchronicity (OhYouWereThere?). Death is the same and the only way I can know it is by preparing for it with a light heart.

• I learned never to schedule an event where I have to present during Ramadan (Library talk 9/7/10 on Essential Oils and Mature Adults). it’s much too stressful. Tamira (daughter #3) helped out and this was one of those miracle blessings i didn’t expect.