tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257998792012-02-16T13:13:51.907-05:00Social, Political and Cultural Commentary At It's Best!Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-8379209985378699602009-06-04T18:54:00.006-05:002009-06-04T19:11:25.190-05:00

Those of you who have read my blog, know that I write about everything under the sun. Anything from music (Hip-Hop in particular), whatever crass, usually highly insulting to my senses movie that comes out (usually an Eddie Murphy movie), to fasting, the challenges of living a spiritual life in an urban jungle and the Marriage Industrial Complex. I even penned an open letter to then Senator

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-45104623961620358322008-12-18T10:16:00.007-05:002008-12-18T11:13:29.330-05:00

Christmas is a strange time of year for me, since I was not raised in a home where we celebrated Christmas for the same reasons most others did. My grandmother, Berdis Emma Baldwin, was born on Christmas day, and so for us, the day was all about honoring the woman who was for us, a living, breathing, embodiment of the teachings of Jesus Christ. She was a special woman who possessed a deep

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-32150709315560307142008-11-18T09:42:00.008-05:002008-11-19T05:22:24.930-05:00

When I watched the news report last week of president-elect Barack Obama and our first lady to be Michelle Obama's recent visit to the White House, I was in awe. It was such a historic moment to watch the future President of the United states and his wife, check out their new digs, 16 blocks from where I live in Washington DC. The first part of the report showed Barack looking quite handsome in

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-20903952069374622332008-11-14T10:57:00.009-05:002008-11-14T15:26:17.227-05:00

Peace To The Tribe!It has been several months since my last post. As our president elect, Barack Obama's campaign took off, I choose to simply take it all in as opposed to getting heavily involved with all the back and forth. The one post I wrote about him was an open letter telling him how as a woman with an African father and an African-American mother, I did not understand how folks were

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-84068543289433859392007-11-15T23:36:00.000-05:002007-11-16T12:00:38.852-05:00

The death of Kanye's mother, Dr. Donda West and the circumstances surrounding her passingstruck a deep cord with me. I often marvel at how Black people, especially those in the entertainment industry, have become so caught up in the Hollywood frenzy of acquiring facial features and undergoing plastic surgery as a means of improving on what God has already made perfect.The whole situation reeks to

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-21265844284393941502007-09-19T11:34:00.001-05:002007-09-19T12:11:59.758-05:00

Greetings Good People!I have returned from my sojourn in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The experience proved to be one of great healing, and growth for me, as well as the many different people that I lived, taught, learned, and worked with on a daily basis from June to September.Living and working in an intentional community, that is committed to social change, and living in harmony with

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-71848777089028294202007-07-19T13:40:00.001-05:002007-07-21T08:45:02.033-05:00

Yesterday, I climbed Mount Chocorua, which is located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The experience was one of profound exhilaration and insight, that left me breathless (literally).I started off the hike with a group of six people, who were a mixture of staff, as well as guests of The World Fellowship Center where I am working for the summer as a Youth Fellowship Coordinator. The group

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-75676556570199375722007-05-21T16:40:00.000-05:002007-05-21T16:48:29.259-05:00

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-14870988235801810672007-05-18T12:18:00.000-05:002007-05-18T12:30:45.013-05:00

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed".-- Albert EinsteinIn our culture, knowledge and intelligence are coveted. We live in a nation of experts, where people pride themselves on having

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-46263912771291985962007-03-29T18:51:00.000-05:002007-03-29T18:59:11.246-05:00

Spring represents a time of regeneration and renewal, and offers an opportunity to get rid of the old and to usher in the new. Many people use this time to do Spring-cleaning. Most people associate Spring-cleaning with the external, but what of internal Spring-cleaning or fasting? The warmer weather and longer days offer us a time to go to the local market and exchange our heavier winter diet

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-37738632684368975112007-03-18T19:31:00.001-05:002011-07-26T13:55:50.596-05:00

About three years ago, I was initiated into Reiki. One of my mentors, had encouraged me to look into learning a similar healing modality called Pranic Healing which is another form of energetic healing, but I never pursued it. I felt that I needed to do more self-healing before I could really consider becoming a conduit for healing others. Then I was introduced to Reiki. Reiki is a Japanese

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-75064286896393503912007-03-11T16:07:00.001-05:002009-08-23T09:42:39.756-05:00

As the Spring Equinox approaches, I have been preoccupied with trying to maintain a balance between being a deeply spiritual person who values long periods of solitude, and who often seeks that solitude by retreating from the constant, bustling activity of the outer world, with that of the part of me that exists as an extremely social being, who loves to network and be part of a community. It is

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-19334021051454053982007-03-03T16:18:00.000-05:002007-03-22T14:38:13.358-05:00

Recently I was gifted with a CD of a lecture given by a Tzutujil Mayan Shaman named Martin Prechtel titled "Grief and Praise". Pechtel, a half-blood Pueblo Indian, trained in the Tzutujil Mayan Shamanic tradition, gives a delightfully engaging and and surprisingly humorous lecture on how the inability that many people have in our culture to grieve (weep) properly for the dead, is deeply linked

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-19690236304257285802007-02-23T11:16:00.002-05:002009-08-25T11:16:33.365-05:00

In my first post on marriage, which I referred to as an industrial complex, I examined the institution’s current state, it's history and the many challenges that many people face in the attempt to fit their modern lives into what I deem to be an archaic set up ( I am not married so this is an outsider's view). Recently, author and leader in the New Thought Movement, Gary Zukav appeared on Oprah

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-55011543116313643872007-02-20T16:59:00.000-05:002007-02-22T13:54:44.302-05:00

Beyond Beats and Rhymes: A Documentary.Airs Tonight On PBS! Check your local listings for more details. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/hiphop/

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-5382170601353901242007-02-18T21:55:00.000-05:002007-03-22T14:40:35.238-05:00

Fire Women I want to see more of these women on television and videos. These Fire Women, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, India.Arie, Jill Scott, Christina Aguilera, Meshell Ndegeocello and Joss Stone are the real deal! They sing from their hearts using their entire minds, their bodies and their souls! I say put a show together with these fierce sistas and call it Celie-Palooza!Also these sistas are

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-54091652460266620942007-02-17T00:03:00.000-05:002007-03-22T14:41:15.724-05:00

Folks, so many of us give our attention to what we don't like. Whether our dislikes have to do with people, the government, our jobs or even our relationships, the Law of Attraction states that what we focus on expands. So in an effort to accentuate the positive or as they say in the hood: "Don't Hate, Appreciate," I am dedicating this post to the men that I love!Dave Chappelle: He gets love

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-54996282135492338842007-02-15T21:20:00.000-05:002007-02-17T11:36:28.370-05:00

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-50168789966910424232007-02-15T20:59:00.000-05:002007-03-22T14:41:58.754-05:00

About 25 years ago, when the stand up comedian Eddie Murphy debuted the hit stand up film "Delirious" I was attending high school in the Bronx.It was the talk of my high school, and many of us had watched the HBO special so many times that we could recite the hilarious routine word for word.Remember Aunt Bunny and Goony Goo Goo? The Story of his overweight aunt with the mustache who would always

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-1171515918442718172007-02-15T00:03:00.000-05:002007-02-15T00:05:18.443-05:00

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-1171514019043868102007-02-14T23:31:00.000-05:002007-03-22T14:42:39.856-05:00

An Open Letter To Brother Barack ObamaDear Senator Obama,I am writing this letter to you to express my disappointment with much of the commentary that I have read and heard about you and the quality of your blackness. I am only concerned with the views that are coming from The African-American community. The reason being, is that it does not nor should it surprise me that some whites are trying

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25799879.post-1144786131565377462006-04-11T15:08:00.001-05:002009-08-25T11:10:50.048-05:00

As a single 39-year-old woman living in New York City, at times I have had to deal with the societal stigma of remaining “Unmarried.” I feel that I handle it well in that I have learned to accept that being single is not a curse. I enjoy much more freedom than most of my friends who are married. I have had the time to become truly self-actualized. I know who I am and am clear about what I require

Aisha Karefa-Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621713234352431936noreply@blogger.com3