In her biography-documentary, there is one scene right before she performs her live recording session at the baptist church in LA. We've seen her struggle with sexual abuse, alcoholism, verbal abuse, physical abuse, the sexism and racism of the time, her role in the civil rights movement and her musical journey where commercialism stands at odds with her musical relationship with the church.
Finally she recognises her alcholism, and manages to convince her label to do a documentary live recording in church, a homecoming to spirituality, which is also the root of the power of the civil rights movement and her beating her alcoholism that came to be due to unprocessed emotions because of her lifetime of abuse.
She hugs her sister who says to her: Aretha, you gotta give it all to God. All of it.
Then she enters the church space where the whole choir is ready to produce a musical experience under her guidance that radiates the shining light of embodied spirituality.
I cried so much that night. I realised, I too carry too much and need to give it to God.
I found the 99 names of Allah the perfect way to start doing that, and so during Ramadan, I studied those names and wrote about their meaning to me.
Al-Haq, Allah is The Real. I give my doubts, my ruminations to Al-Haq so my exhausted brain that is ever-hypervigilent, ever-analysing and never resting a break. I may not know, feel or embody The Real - in all the different scenario's I play in my head when it comes to social anxiety or workaholic people-pleasing tendencies, but there is Al-Haq, encompassing all those scenario's from all those people, from all those different paths that could have taken place, I leave it to Al-Haq, knowing I can't understand it, it's not my role to understand it. It's my role to rest, to take care of present me, to make sure I'm not overwhelmed, to make sure I'm fed, I drank enough, moved my body and maintain an inner state of peace.
Al-Haq speaks to us in the moments that we recognise, empathise, realise and connect. This is one glorious part of experience.
I give all of it to Allah - and it's 99 names.
May 24, 2024
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Iâve found myself thinking about God a lot as of late. I didnât grow up in the Church, and right now Iâm not on a distinctive quest for answers experiencing feelings of desperation. EDIT: I am actually so lost but not looking for answers from God necessarily? â I simply am just noticing God everywhere. And when I start explaining these thoughts and feelings to my mother or friends about how much Iâve been thinking about Godliness, I always start by saying:
âWell Iâve just been thinking about how God is everywhere; like in the taste of this chocolate cake orâŚ.â
Once I spent a year or more where I didnât cry at all. I canât remember if I even laughed from an authentic place at this time period? Because for several of those months I have no memories.
But nowadaysâ I look up at the moon in cold January and shed a tear because how lovely is the moon? And when watching a beautiful movie because how lovely is that? And hearing that song the 400th time but still tearing up because suddenly itâs like youâre hearing it for the first time? And crying four times in one yoga class because i just cant help it, everything; even things unknown, are releasing.
I donât know God personally. But I know where God lives; like in the taste of this chocolate cake. or a cold refreshing breeze on my face when Iâm feeling too hot, in the laughter of my loved ones, in the juicy green grass, in how I feel when Iâm bathing in endless ocean waves or dancing with my baby cousin. Humble and mindful and indulgent in it all. I dont have to search very hard.
Jan 26, 2025
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I get my 5 dailies in everyday. I donât fast anymore during the month of Ramadan because heart condition and thatâs okay. If Iâm carrying cash and I encounter someone living on the street, they just hit a lick. I am a monotheist and I believe that the Prophet Mohammad is the final Abrahamic Prophet. Iâm def tryna gotta to đMecca. These are the five pillars of Islam. I remember one Spring in college I tripped so hard I understood atheism and tried it on. That lasted about two seasons but I put my Islam coat back on in the Winter.
Mar 13, 2023
If youâre like me thereâs a bunch of stressful bullshit happening upstairs. Why not think of something more comforting
Feb 18, 2025
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Phenomenology in a space. Fucking vibes. Become aware of your awareness and experience will show you it's richness.
May 24, 2024
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I was born on monday 28th june, 1999
I am a cancer sun, cancer rising and sagittarius moon.
When I was 4 I visited the beach for the first time.
It was during a code red storm in The Netherlands.
I think it was my favourite day in my life.
The beach is my favourite place.
Monday comes from the Anglo-Saxon word MĹnandĂŚg, which loosely means âthe moonâs day.â MĹna is the word for moon in Old English.
The second day of the week has been classified as the moonâs day since Babylonian times. The Babylonians were the ones who decided on a seven-day week, and they named five of the days for planets, and one each for the sun and for the moon.
In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month.
In English common law, a "lunar month" traditionally meant exactly 28 days or four weeks, thus a contract for 12 months ran for exactly 48 weeks.[2] In the United Kingdom, the lunar month was formally replaced by the calendar month for deeds and other written contracts by section 61(a) of the Law of Property Act 1925 and for post-1850 legislation by the Interpretation Act 1978.
This type of month has been observed among cultures in the Middle East, India, and China in the following way: they divided the sky into 27 or 28Â lunar mansions, one for each day of the month, identified by the prominent star(s) in them.
Yet others use calculation, of varying degrees of sophistication, for example, the Hebrew calendar or the ecclesiastical lunar calendar. Lunar cycles are prominent, and calculated with great precision in the ancient Hindu Panchangam calendar, widely used in the Indian subcontinent.
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
The lunar day is longer than the Earth day because the Moon orbits in the same direction the Earth spins. This is analogous to the minute hand on a watch crossing the hour hand at 12:00 and then again at about 1:05½ (not at 1:00).
The semi-diurnal range (the difference in height between high and low waters over about half a day) varies in a two-week cycle. Approximately twice a month, around new moon and full moon when the Sun, Moon, and Earth form a line (a configuration known as a syzygy[9]), the tidal force due to the Sun reinforces that due to the Moon. The tide's range is then at its maximum; this is called the spring tide. It is not named after the season, but, like that word, derives from the meaning "jump, burst forth, rise", as in a natural spring. Spring tides are sometimes referred to as syzygy tides.[10]
When the Moon is at first quarter or third quarter, the Sun and Moon are separated by 90° when viewed from the Earth, and the solar tidal force partially cancels the Moon's tidal force. At these points in the lunar cycle, the tide's range is at its minimum; this is called the neap tide, or neaps. "Neap" is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "without the power", as in forĂ°ganges nip (forth-going without-the-power).[11]Â
Spring tides result in high waters that are higher than average, low waters that are lower than average, "slack water" time that is shorter than average, and stronger tidal currents than average. Neaps result in less extreme tidal conditions. There is about a seven-day interval between springs and neaps.
National Moon Day is celebrated in the U.S. on July 20th every year to honor the anniversary of the first moon landing in 1971.
The zodiac sign Cancer is especially unique as it is ruled by the moon instead of a planet. Astrologically, the moon represents our unconscious minds, emotions, intuition, our childhoods, and relationships with maternal figures. With the moon being Cancerâs ruling planet, it carries this energy into the unique expression of the sign.
The start and end date of a zodiac season can vary within a couple days depending on exactly when the sun moves into a new sign. Last year, Cancer season began on June 21st and comes to an end just after National Moon Day on July 22nd.
Cancer is a water sign, a sign known for being emotional, intuitive, sensitive and imaginative. They are known to be able to intrinsically connect and empathize with people in a vulnerable way.
Cancer is a cardinal sign, marking the official beginning of summer. Cardinal signs are known to be leaders, trend setters, and visionaries. Cardinal signs often have a go-getter attitude and have a strong influence on others.
Jun 17, 2024
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I've been ironing with lavender scented water and it's been a pleasure.
Many thanks to the prefrontal cortex development <3
Jul 16, 2024