BOB Fest in Atlanta-Celebrating the legacy of Bob Marley

BOBFEST is an annual city-wide celebration of the music, teachings and legacy of Bob Marley.

This year’s BOBFEST is an annual city-wide celebration of the music, teachings and legacy of Bob Marley. This year’s theme is AGAIN “L’Union Fait La Force” a Haitian term and the motto of the republic of Haiti, which translates to “Unity Yields Strength.” In celebration of the birth day of Bob Marley, we have organized a weeklong series of events (Feb 1-6, 2012) which will provide a celebration of his legacy and a demonstration of the current relevance of his message. Each day’s title within this celebration is modeled after a song of Bob Marley. For more info, http://www.bobfestatl.com

Afro Elle Magazine

 

Hello everyone,

I just had to share this magazine with you..because it’s fabulous..I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Afro Elle Magazine

Happy Holidays!

J

Mindless entertainment ????

Art/Music/entertainment can be healing, but it can also be very toxic. This is one of the reasons why I stopped watching all of the “Real Housewives, Basketball wives or any types of “wives” shows. The  constant gossiping, arguing, physical and mental abuse was no longer entertaining to me. I won’t lie,  I cracked up when I saw Tami  jump across three people to punch Evelyn in the face ( don’t we all secretly wish that we could do that sometimes?) but when I look at the bigger picture, there’s nothing funny about it. These women are mothers… do they ever stop to think how this many affect their children?  There are  millions of teens and young adults receiving the message that it’s okay to handle conflict by inflicting physical harm. Or that it’s okay to smile in your friend’s face one minute and then tear her down in the next? So many of us complain about how we are perceived at by the world ( angry, belligerent, unworthy of marriage , loud, ignorant, whorish)  yet we support the entities that perpetuate these ugly stereotypes. As a black woman, I find it depressing that so many  of US are entertained by our own buffoonery.

Some  tell me that I am “thinking too deeply” that I’m “taking it to seriously”. Well..  YES I DO  TAKE IT SERIOUSLY!  It hurts to see myself  constantly being represented so negatively. I take my mental and spiritual health seriously, so I don’t want to fill my mind with such toxic “entertainment”.    So yeah… for me it is serious.Can we at least get some balance!?!?!   I’m not judging anyone who watches these shows but I do think that collectively we should be more mindful of what we are putting into our  psyches.

<steps off soapbox>

I have a challenge for you

I have been struggling with my weight for years and even on a vegan diet, my weight ballooned.  This is because most of my diet consisted of soy “meats”and vegan prepacked foods. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I had a gluten and soy intolerance ; ingredients that are in 99%  of all processed foods. A processed food is a processed food regardless if it is vegan, organic, or “all natural.”

I’m a pretty good cook, and I really enjoy preparing food for others but I didn’t necessarily like to cook for myself .I convinced myself that  I didn’t have the time to cook every day, but I think the issue was much deeper. In one of my Food Relationship coaching sessions with  Shelley of  Eat, Relate ,Love  , she made a statement that stuck with me :  “How you do food, is how you do everything else in life.” If this is so, it speaks volumes to how I felt about myself at that time. Did I think that I didn’t deserve the LOVE that comes in the form of a home cooked meal?? Did I think that I was only worthy of  a 3 minute microwave box of  vegan Fettuccine Alfredo??? hmmmm….

ANYHOOO..

I’m an artist,so I started to approach cooking in that way. I found that the more I prepared meals for myself, the more I began to enjoy my own delectable  creations.  Even when one of my kitchen experiments is a failure , I still get certain sense of pride in the fact that I took a risk. I learn from my mistake and think about what I can do different to make it better the next time.  ” How you do food… is how you do everything else in life.”

Today I was watching a documentary called  Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead . It made me think about how we are indoctrinated with  processed foods in this society.Try counting all of the fast food, ribs & wing joints that you pass on your way home from work today.

Most grocery stores are 90% processed foods.I believe that more people are addicted to food additives than to nicotine, drugs and alcohol combined. Food is supposed to nurture & heal but in my opinion  it has become the biggest weapon of mass destruction.

Pharmaceutical companies are getting richer.

To all my readers, I would like for us to challenge ourselves to prepare our meals at home more often. If you are  “kitchen-challenged”, I encourage you to browse  google and youtube. I have found some culinary jewels  from searching  food blogs.

If you are in the Atlanta, My friend Jamila of Earthcandy offers  Vegan Cooking Classes for a very reasonable rates.   So grab a group of friends and take a cooking class with her. I have had her cooking on several occasions and I PROMISE that you won’t be disappointed

Will you join me on this challenge? If so please send us some photos or videos of what’s happening in your kitchen. Until next time.

Love and Light

-Jameelah

A change gon come…

I  had pretty much abandoned this blog. In fact, I planned to take it down but I never got around to it.  One of the reasons was because I started this blog for a specific purpose; to talk about my journey ( and my battles) with regaining my health. I wanted to talk about all things health/ fitness related. But over time, I realized that I really didn’t want to write about that all the time. Like a true Sagittarius, I grew bored with it very quickly.

    I also started thinking about how much time and energy that women  spend talking about calories, sugar, weight loss, weight gain,  low fat, high fat, trans fat,  cellulite, diet pills, diet drinks, diets, fasts, cleanses,   and  { insert latest exercise craze here}.  The law of attraction states  that the things that you  focus on  will manifest in your life.  Maybe so many of us can’t rid of that extra  jiggle on our thighs because we are giving it  SO MUCH ATTENTION. Just a thought.

With the help of  my friend Shelley Chapman of Eat, Relate, Love ,I realized that in order to conquer my battle with weight, I had to release it… and I did just that. Whoohoo!

I am so much more than a woman who runs three times a week but  struggles with a potato chip addiction…lol. I’m an artist , a teacher, student, nature lover, traveler and I live a pretty friggin amazing life!  I have so much more to talk about.

As far as where I am on my journey, It’s been steady..  slow but steady. I have had a few plateaus ( and even a few gains) but for the most part, I am content with where I am.  Recently  my vegetarianism turned into Flexitariasm. I never thought that I would ever eat meat again, but I found that adding a few (organic, free range) animal products has been beneficial.  My diet is still about 95% vegan.  I will elaborate more in future posts.

Don’t get me wrong, my health is still very important to me.  I still want to focus on health/fitness in this blog, and I  still hope to help and inspire others  . But no longer do I want this blog to be  about the 2 pounds that I lost (or gained) last week. This blog will be about all things Jameelah.  Hopefully this will inspire me to write more ,  I have so much that I want to share with you.  Stay tuned

July’s Phenomenal Woman of the Month Mahogany Boisseau

Happy summer friends!

I am back from hiatus with my Phenomenal Woman of the Month series. This month, I am honored to introduce you to Mahogany Boisseau.  She is a Reiki master, model, student, and the spokeswoman for  Naptural Roots Magazine.I recently sat down with Mahogany and here’s what she has to say:

Tell us about yourself?

I was born in Washington Heights(Uptown), NYC and later moved to New Jersey. I am a Reiki Master and Energy Medicine Practitioner. I am also a fashion marketing student, although I am currently on hiatus from school.

How did you become involved with Naptural Roots Magazine? 

I decided that I wanted to become a natural hair model and started looking for opportunities. I came across Naptural Roots Magazine when they had a model call in Los Angeles. I contacted LeAnne Dolce  who is the founder of the magazine and told her that I would be willing to come to California for the photo shoot. I didn’t know that Leanne was looking for a Spokeswoman at that time. Two weeks later, she approached me with an offer to be the spokeswoman/model for the magazine. She said that she loved my energy and positive attitude and she thought that I would be a perfect fit for the magazine. I immediately accepted.  Later, the role of coordinator was added to my list of duties, I love what I do!

 
Photo courtesy of  House of Nappy Salon

Why did you decide to go natural?

15 years ago, I saw a book. I cannot remember the name of the book right now, but it had pictures of African ancestors on the cover and it read: “Why do you hate our image?” It had an extreme effect on my mind and heart. I did some more research and decided at that point that I was going to go natural.

Did you face any opposition from your friends and family members when made that decision? If so, how did you cope with it?

Yes! The only person who supported my natural hair transition 15 years ago was my ex-boyfriend of 6 years, he was my cheerleader. Everyone else did not understand what was going on with me. People told me I was not as pretty with natural hair and that I should straighten it.  Every time someone said something negative, I just ignored them and continued to do me.

Tell us about your transition from relaxed to natural hair?

 I did not do a Big Chop. I wore micro braids until my relaxer grew out. When I took my braids out, I simply cut off the relaxed ends. By that time, my natural hair had grown a little past my ears.

photo courtesy of Sepia 7

How do you keep that fro looking so beautiful!? What’s your regimen? 

 I wash my hair every 1 or 2 weeks depending on the style that I am wearing. I De-tangle with Jane Carter revitalizing leave in conditioner and put my hair in about 6-8 big braids to dry.

How you did you become interested in Reiki and what inspired you to become a practitioner? 

 I was visiting a friend  in Brooklyn about 13 years ago and his mother introduced me to Reiki. She had just become a Reiki master and she shared her experience with me, which caused me to want to learn more. I’ve been a Reiki master for 4 years now.

photo courtsey of Sepia7

I understand that you are a vegan.When did you become a vegan, why did you choose a plant based diet?

 I have always been a health conscious person so it was a natural for me to move in that direction. 

What effect has veganism had on your health? 

It has had a big impact on my health. I get little to no menstrual cramps and I just feel better all around.

Define what a healthy lifestyle means to you?

 A healthy lifestyle to me goes beyond what you put into your body. Our physical body is only a shell; it’s how we take care of both our outer body and our spirit. Mental health is extremely important too. When it comes to health you can never be one dimensional with your approach. I am not the vegan that is judging or preaching to anyone. We all have the right to choose what is best for us.

  Photo Courtesy of Sepia 7

 What’s next for Mahogany?

 Naptural Roots is about to go on tour and I am so excited! We are fine tuning the details and working really hard right now. I have some personal things that I am working on as well, so stay tuned!

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers?

 Naptural Roots Magazine  is a natural hair and lifestyle magazine, we are growing and we need your support. Please subscribe today by visiting our website at   www.napturalroots.com . You can also join our Facebook Page.We are  20,000 strong and growing! The Naptural Roots staff is working really hard to showcase both known and unknown naturals. We offer articles on health, wealth, spirituality, community issues and natural hair care. Thank you to everyone who has already been a part of the magazine and to anyone who will be in the future.  If you have any questions or comments please e-mail me at Mahogany@napturalroots.com.  Love and Blessings to everyone that took the time to read this.

Photo courtesy of Sepia 7

Current Mood-Accomplished!

I finally got my official grades back. I would have gotten a perfect score on my final but my professor deducted points  because I went over the word count *side eye*.Oh well, I’m long winded in person too…lol. 

Anyhoo, it’s official-I will graduate with honors!  Yaaay Mee!

I managed to do this with a full time job, an active social life, music gigs, rehearsing lines for a play and using facebook as a tool to procrastinate..Lol. I can’t believe that it’s finally over! I am looking forward to the new opportunities that this degree has in store for me.But the learning never stops,I will start a new academic program in the summer. Right now I am going to kick back and enjoy this well deserved break.

I AM SO PROUD OF MYSELF!!

Now that I will have a little more free time on my hands, I will be able to dust  the cobwebs off  of this blog … Y’all will be hearing more from me

Love and Light

Jameelah