Thanks for stopping by. The integegration of the blog Transforming the American Workplace, the IWP Shift in Consciousness ezine, and this blog Ascension/Resurrections/Shifts/Transformations is now available at www.akilahtzuberi.com. 

The integrated blog is the best of both blogs, the ezine, and more. There are some new sections with some new themes that I will be exploring. The integration and expansion has been a 3-month journey. that has been well worth every minute of my focus. 

Hopefully, I have created something of interest for anyone who has a desire to join the chorus of voices who are calling for the global shift in consciousness. 

~In joy, Akilah

  

Happy February! Thanks for stopping by. This is just a note to remind you that I am in the process of integrating the Transforming the American Workplace blog, the IWP Shift in Consciousness Ezine, and my personal, unedited and uncut, Ascension, Resurrections, Shifts & Transformations blog. Everything seems to be unfolding in divine order. I couldn’t have selected a better time to do this integration. With the rapid deterioration of the old narrative, folks are looking for a new way. Many of us know that the conflict and discord that the planet is mired in cannot continue. It seems we are witnessing the limits of suffering.

On another note, the catalogues are pouring in as we approach what I love the most about summer, gardening. I will be sharing photos and garden stories. My journal is filled with gardening ideas, and notes from some thought provoking reading that I am engaged in. Notably, I want to share with you the New Monastic movement which I have become a part of.  I have been attracted to the contemplative life for a while now, and it seems that my desire to integrate the monastic life with and in all that I do has received a response. But I will share more in the new publication, which should be ready on or about March, 2017. No exact date right now.

In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the beautiful winter and the exciting changes that are occurring on the planet. Remember to stay in the present moment, stay in love, and most of all, remember that time is embraced by eternity.  The old narrative is not going out without a roar. 

Also during the week you can find me and the Call, Rap & RealTalk about the “belief in working hard and earning a living” on Twitter, “most” Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. For those of you who might need a little inspiration to get you through your week or through these turbulent times, you can go to Akilah t’Zuberi’s New Earth Advocate on Facebook.

In joy. ~Akilah 

Happy New Year 2017!

I would like to remind you that I am currently integrating and expanding the Transforming the American Workplace blog, the IWP Shift in Consciousness Ezine, and the Ascension, Resurrection, Shifts and Transformations blog.  The new publication should be ready to launch on or about March, 2017. I will post another reminder in February, 2017, just to let you know how things are coming along. In joy ~Akilah t’Zuberi

It's Been A Shift

It's the middle of March! And little did I realize that the last time that I'd written in this blog was September. You can imagine how much catching up "you" have to do!

Let's start with...art. I just finished another collaborative show, 5 pieces. The show was intended to take place last March, 2015,  but unfortunately the other artists and I could not secure a venue. Fortunately, in January, we found a cafe/gallery willing to host the show and we began, no that's not true, I began furiously to finish the pieces. I said, after the opening, which was well attended, despite the cold and the rain, that I was going to take a break. I have been in 4 exhibitions in the past 5 years. Two days later a friend asks if I would be willing to do some more extensive type of collaboration? I said yes, so long as there is not a preconcieved theme that I need to create around. And I would rather dispense with deadlines. We agreed. 

My santuary. Since it's warm again, I can continue creating my visionary garden. In July, 2015, the back yard was finally cleaned of all ground cover ivy, and bushes; the tree that hung over half of the yard is now trimmed back to the fence. The rose bush transitioned and I am not at all sure if I will plant another. It was inherited from the previous owners. It was quite leggy. Maybe because it had not been prunned on a regular basis. I gave it my best shot, even found some rose food, prunned it back, hard, as suggested from my reserch. Around the end of August, I knew it was ready to return to the Source. The bush was on the same side of the garden as what is supposed to be a "dwarf" fig tree. It's about 7 feet, and next month, I will prune it. A little under 5'6", I cannot reach the top of the tree where most of the fruit is. I'll do some reading and look at a couple of prunning videos and then go at it.  

With the show behind me now, my catalogs and my sketch book are out; meditating on the spring planting, and what is not going to be planted again. Experimenting with some fruit trees this year, ones that have been grown for my zone.  They too are supposed to be dwarf trees. I have promised myself that I would begin to journal/blog more frequently (with photos) in the progressive creation of this garden. So below is a photo of the side of the house, where there had once been nothing but weeds and some overgrown (from my neighbors' yards) bushes and a grape vine, now clean, covered and mulched. No vision yet on what will be here.

The two front beds need some attention. I need to take some of the dirt out of each of them, level and replant and add some more plants. One side gets quite a bit of sun and everything on that side is overgrown!

In January (2016) the back siding on the house was done, with sorely needed new insulation. Now a new window and a new screen door are in order. With those additions, a small deck will complete the renovations on the back of the house. The focus is now on the front: new siding, windows, and porch furniture. The drop ceiling in my second floor apartment kitchen was removed and I have a new ceiling that has been painted. Now I am looking at resurfacing the kitchen cabinets (this resurfacing includes learning how to use a hand-saw so that I can redesign the doors with stained glass). New hardware and a new backsplash. The living room and the bedroom are in for major redesigning. I have decided that the living will not be the studio and the bedroom will be the bedroom. It requires that I call my friendly neighborhood thrift shop and tell them that I have some items for pick up!

Downstairs. I am redesigning the living room, which is actually a large space that portends some kind of division. I will make it one big room and assign it as my writing station: computer, books, desk, chair, the whole works.

Eventually I will make my way back to the basement to finish the walls. There's so much more to do down there before I can design my small workout station.

So that's art and the house. Writing. It's been two years and I haven't yet finished the sessions in shifting. I have no excuse. I have not been given a pass. The shift ezine and the workplace are now bi-monthly publications, and I will be focusing more on the expansion of the idea of shifting from working to creating. My idea about transforming the workplace has shifted and morphed to such an extent that it does not look or sound like the original idea that I began with almost 4 years ago.

I am in the penultimate week of six  weeks of dental work. That comes as a joyful relief!

What else? Oh! Check out this photo. I had the opportunity to meet a woman affectionately called "the other Frida." She operates a comedor in the market in Ocotlan, just outside of the city of Oaxaca. A friend told me that he had written an article about her. It was a pleasure to meet her. Beatriz.

It seems as if Beatriz is asked if her photo can be taken as much as I am. It always amazes me when people here in Oaxaca express wonder and interest in my hair. I try to explain that there are so many beautiful heads of locks in the U.S. It's a normal thing.

The coming months are full of activities. New Orleans in June, some day trips with the gran's; I will make the Native American "Roasting of the Corn" festival this year in August. I've missed some of the larger festivals and pow-wows because they take place in April, my month of transition and recalibation. Bolivia is in the works for October.

I've been beckoned to La Paz for several years now. So I am readying myself for the mountain of paper work that I need to present to secure a visa. I'll enroll in a spanish class for the last 2 weeks in October to bid my time until day of the dead which is supposed to far surpass Mexico's (that's kinda hard to believe), but hopefully I will be there. La Paz is also known for having the largest curandera mercado in so-called "latin" america. I promise to take photos. 

Next year, ojala, it is my intention to return to Africa, to Benin. 

Moving on.

Readings: Thomas Merton on solitude and silence, and the monastic way, which I find very attractive. The Way of Mastery- Book 2, the way of transformation. It's the bomb! The Sacred Earth. I'm just about through it and I have a stack of other readings on creating a new earth environment that are in the wings.

I know there's more, but I promise to do better in my relationship with this blog. It is indeed a pleasure to write and share ideas.

In joy~ Akilah, March 29, 2016, Oaxaca de Juarez

Meditations on Visionary Gardening, Philadelphia, Summer 2015

Branch & Wood Garden Art. The sculpture with the shells is a creation of a neighbor who lives two blocks north. I couldn't believe the beauty of his work as I happened to pass by his house. He sat peacefully on the porch, while I got out of my car. As I walked to the sidewalk to begin a tour, he gets up and comes to the porch railing to tell me that he'll give me a good price. I left with several sculptures and a chair. 

                                                                          Gardening, Summer 2015
My daughter and I are in dialogue about how things are going to shift next year. We are going to focus more on the greens- kale, turnips, collards, salad greens- and I'm going to give broccoli another try.

Lucinato and purple leaf kale. What's amazing about these greens, including the swiss chard that's all gone now, is that if the leaves are cut off about 1/2" from the root stalk, the greens will continue to grow. It's September and I've had kale for 2 months. It freezes up nice too.

The kale was grown in a keyhole garden that I structured last year. In the center, I dug a hole, that serves as a composting bin. I'm reading about the exact ratios of leaves and scraps that make for ideal compost. 

In the keyhole garden next to the kale is rue, planted last year. It has more than tripled in size. This herb is used in cleansing rituals. I have another in the front sidewalk bed. I figure my house is protected. On Pinterest, I found this, "The Romans call it "Mars Herb" because it can be as fierce as the god Mars. It is known to relieve pain, colic and to improve appetite and digestion." 

In the keyhole garden between the kale and the rue are two types of tarragon, a dark and light green variety. I used them in a marinade for turkey chops, and then grilled them. The aroma was amazing, and the taste, incomparable! These herbs are perennials, so they'll be back next year. 

Gardening, in this time, in this period, I've discovered is multi-dimensional: it is a form of protest, it is an act of rebellion, but more than all of that, it is one of the ways in which we can shift how we are living on this planet. 

Three years it has taken me to remove all the grass from my yard, front and back (I'll begin on the side sometime next week). During the past three years, I have taken/am taking in everything that I can about the urban gardening movement and permaculture. In all honestly, I have had to take a serious look at my time. 

Gardening, on this scale, the scale where you eat what you grow, and you try to grow as much as you can of what you eat, is not a couple of days a week. Weeding is three or four times per week, given the size of the back and front gardens. Pruning, watering (especially during the dry spells, and we've had some dry spells in Philly this summer), staking, these are daily. Throwing in the harvesting time for some plants, like the fig tree I planted 2 years ago, seed planting, canning, the gardening season begins around March and extends into November. 

I have never been in Philly when the figs are ready. So as of next year, I will stick around, waiting until about November, to begin my migration to Mexico. I'll be making fig paste and fig and brandy preserves.

Then there are the tomatoes! Tomatoes! And more tomatoes! I grew two heirloom varieties of which I will repeat next year, the purple cherokees and  the yellow zebras. But the cherry tomatoes I will forgo next year.

What else? Cucumbers galore. I have been drinking cucumber, apple and ginger most mornings for the past month or so. I feel great! I went out one morning with the intention of cleaning the cucumber bed because I thought they were all finished, and this is what I discovered hiding behind the vines that had wrapped themselves around the gates of the garden entrance. 

Jalapenos (excuse the lack of accent), yellow wax beans, mojito mint (will come back next year), Thai red peppers (used a couple to season a mess of greens and some green, purple and yellow beans). When those purple beans hit the heat, they turn green.

Finally, there's the front sidewalk bed of thyme, rosemary, and in the front yard, lavender, oregano, sage and valerian! 

  

Lots of flowers from seed this year, and a little more focus on one of my favorites places of my sanctuary, the porch. 

Purple, spicy basil. Robust flavor.

Last year I cleared the grass under the side wall, that borders the driveway. The purple grass didn't make it through the harsh winter, so I had to find something else suitable for the area. 

Well I'm participating in a show coming up in December that requires 5 more pieces. I suppose I can focus on them now. I know that I haven't posted "here" since April, since we lost "Athelstan," (The Vikings).  There are two other publications on my plate,  the workplace blog and the ezine. It's a handful, but I love it.  

Oh! By the way, if you're into new earth consciousness stuff at all, I would recommend a book that I just finished. Charles Eisenstein's The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible. Fucking brilliant! Inspirational, motivational and right on point. I enjoyed every chapter. What else am I reading? The Way of Mastery, a thorough review of topics covered in ACIM and ACOL. I'll settle down this fall and start focusing on that 4th book that I wanted to finish last year. The Sessions in Shifting should be completed within the next couple of weeks, and I've decided to offer them for free. 

All and all,  I'm on it and the Source is with me. Always. Eternally.

April 7, 2015 The Resurrection

Flokki took Athelstan out! Geez.

Athelstan was an interesting, conflicted, beautiful character on The Vikings. I don't know how many of you watch the series, but I have been addicted since the first episode. I had come to identity with Athelstan's conflict. Not his conflict between his loyalty and faith in Thor or Odin and the Father of Jesus Christ, but the conflict between seemingly conflicting states. His, as mentioned, was between a relationship with the Viking Gods or the God of Jesus Christ.

The nature of my conflict was slightly different, but nevertheless a conflict.  It was the conflict between being in relationship with the world, as it is, with separation, its anxiety, its ups and downs, the addiction to the emotional roller-coaster ride, to polarity.  Up one day, down the next. On the other hand, it was the attractiveness and the peace of being at home in Christ Consciousness. Joining heart and mind in oneness, uninterrupted focus on being at One. That conflict, like any, is intensified when one can clearly distinguish, in feeling and experience, between the two states.

Athelstan had made peace with Thor and Odin, and he made a choice, one that preceded, as choices always do, the experience of being born again, or the resurrection into the light. When Flokki arrived, Athelstan was at peace with his choice and his experience.

It is clear. The old self must die in order that the new self may be born. It seems an easy choice doesn't it? -between lack and limitation, sadness, conflict and discord, and the eternal peace of Love's embrace. Not so.

Michael Hirst, the writer and producer of The Vikings, in response to the death of Athelstan, said that the kind of internal conflict Athelstan was experiencing must have a resolution. It had to end. A Course in Miracles says as much: there is a limit on pain, and sooner or later, the spirit seeks relief. Athelstan has merged back into non-physical, and that's that. So be it.

It's time to get in the garden, one of my favorite spaces, and one of my favorite times of the year. I am not a summer person, and gardening is the only thing that I can really appreciate about the summer. I'm just not a happy camper in the heat and humidity of Philadelphia, but the garden and the joy I experience in it, overshadows all of that discomfort. I've got plenty of projects that I want to get underway. I bought wood to construct a garden arbor last year, but never got to it. That was mainly because I didn't clear all the ivy from the back of the yard. It turned out to be a labor intensive endeavor. I have resolved to make clearing the remainder of the ivy the first thing I do after starting my seeds. I have purple grass that I planted last year along the driveway, and it grew so fast, that the plants are taller than the wall that borders the driveway. They will have to moved to the back. Where, I do not know. Hopefully the garden spirits will pick out a spot.

 
Then there is the inside! I started last year working on the foundation of the front of my house because there are so many cracks in it. It's an older house, and it just needs some tender loving care which it hasn't gotten from its previous two owners. Let me tell you, cement work is no joke. No wonder masons charge so much. I'm not mad at them. But I will see the project through. It may take another year to finish all the cement work, but I am up to it. I am the woman for the job.

I love my house. It is my sanctuary, my refuge, my temple of solitude and peace. And I have no doubt that it was given to me to heal, and as it is healed, so am I. It's a great exchange. Giving and receiving is one in truth.

What else is up?

A show in December, 2015.  I'm three-quarters finished with the pieces. I have two more to complete this summer and I'm ready. I'm averaging about two shows per year, and with that, I am satisfied, and grateful.

Books. A stack that I have to get to. So it will be many evenings, after working on the house and in the garden, of gin and tonics and some good reads. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, been on the reading agenda for over a year. Charles Eisenstein's The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible; Resistance Against Empire, by Derrick Jensen; Hemenway's  Gaia's Garden, all about permaculture and the urban gardener.


Relationships! My children. I'll hang with my daughter and daughter-in-law, my grandchildren. Take in tapas and the Eastern Market in DC. with my son. Visit sisters and brothers. Take in a wedding and there's plenty birthdays to celebrate! 

It's a divine unfolding going on here.

Tonight I am working on the text for the Sessions in Shifting, and ideas or information, however one wants to put it, always come to me when I am putting together something that is for a learning purpose (or in this case an unlearning purpose). Sometimes the information that comes to me has nothing to do with what I am writing. I just think that it is when I am in that zone of nonresistance, the communication flows so much easier.

But what came to me tonight was this idea about time. I felt like 2014 flew by, and I have heard other people make the same or similar comment. There is a dialogue in A Course of Love and A Course in Miracles about time. In ACIM, time is defined as a learning interval: it's the time it takes one to become aware of who they are. All life experience "in time" is engagement in lessons that are designed to bring about the awakening. Once that awakening takes place, there is no longer a  need for time. In ACOL time is used to complete the transitioning from the state of separation to the state of Unity Consciousness. ACOL takes one through this transition in The Treatises and in The Dialogues. 

Some of the guidance includes recognizing when one is acting, mostly from habit, from beliefs in the separation. It's called "running into your old self." I do this a lot, and it is what I am focusing on now. Like with this idea of time. I have begun to experience this dismantling of time. It's not like how I thought it was going to be. At first, it is emotionally painful and disorienting. Some depression comes with it, and I think this is because those structures that I based my life on have been deconstructed, and are no more. And I wouldn't go back, couldn't go back, and rebuild them anyway. They were all based on illusions/falsehoods.

Anyway, what I am finding disorienting is nothing but mind's response to absence of those structures. It's totally about thinking, and that is why ACOL says that all thought, as you have known it, must cease, or else...well, I will spend the rest of my days in this transitioning, and I simply cannot bear that.

So I will say it again. Tonight, while I was working on the Sessions, I received some communication: I've come too far, and I can't turn back now; and there ain't shit in that old world, that old life that I would turn back too. Nothing.