imaginejoyy

[imaginejoyy]

i am all about peace and positive vibes but i do not support toxic positivity: the obsessive and insatiable desire/need to always be *superficially* happy. i see it all the time in spiritual communities (especially in the white spaces i have explored). There is something very violent about that to me. It's insidious in the way that it eats away at your spirit as you limit your capacity and ability to feel; as you disallow yourself from knowing and experiencing the wholeness of who you are. That type of suppression leads to disconnect and often manifests in destructive behavior (against self, others, and/or things). i believe that much of the violence we experience within our society is the result of the agreements and commitments we make to living "beautiful" lies.

🔸

Yes, be intentional and mindful about how you choose to respond to what it is that you feel. But commit to telling the truth. With love and great compassion, allow yourself to feel and process all that you feel.

🔸

"Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge." --Audre Lorde

[imaginejoyy]

“your body is a work of art

a kinetic sculpture

a memoir written in flesh

the story you reveal

is the story of your life

an intricate narrative

of perseverance

and

joy” . –Kat Lehmann

[imaginejoyy]

Open. yOur. heART.

It is love that allows us to be tender-hearted: to take off our masks and engage with the complexity of human history; to join the dance of our ancestors and connect with their desires and abilities to choreograph new possibilities; to create physical, emotional, and spiritual opportunities that allow us self-determination.

As we move forward in our individual heART journeys, may faith sustain us and empower us to continue planting/watering seeds of love.

With intentions of peace and love, make it a great year! ❤️

[imaginejoyy]

“Let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.“ –Khalil Gibran

Together. Heavens. Dance. Moving. Seas.

Photography by Todd Rosenberg

[imaginejoyy]

Spirituality, to me, is ultimately about actualization. Once i am gifted truth in understanding, the challenge/opportunity then becomes: how do i navigate reality with that understanding? how do i cultivate it and allow it to flow harmoniously with and through my steps? how do i live/breathe, as best as i can, my truth?

As i continue moving forward in Creation with the desire to be more conformed to love and authentic in my expression, i am gently reminded how important it is to walk the walk.

i grew up learning that the Word must shared in relationship: it is most powerfully communicated in the way that we relate to one another. That, to me, means the true power lives in our ability to integrate our thoughts and beliefs with our actions. Which is not always easy.

Years ago, i heard what i thought (and still believe) was a calling to become a spiritual teacher. And a part me of me ran away from it the first time, uncomfortable with the magnitude of it's volume. It didn't come to me in a gentle whisper. Thunder and lightning would more adequately describe the way the message rang in my spirit. But i wasn't ready--i didn't believe i was ready. Too attached to my conditioning. Too conflicted with my narrative, my drama, my life stories (my life story would make quite an entertaining Lifetime movie).

Honestly, sometimes i feel like i will never truly be ready. But i also know that's not true because the Most High would not have gifted me with something that i can not handle. i also know that i wouldn't be burning with such heARTfelt desire: to know love, to be love. If it was not Purposed.

And so, i sit in silence. With meditation and prayer. Breathing. Asking. And listening. Trying to hear the Creator's voice over the many thoughts chiming mindlessly in my head. Which can be very frustrating... But goodness, those moments when i am clearly and Divinely Spoken to (and i do use that word in the traditional sense as sometimes messages come in many different forms, sometimes a symbol or simple gesture/movement)... Everything makes sense. And i am inspired. To keep moving forward. To keep expanding. In love and possibility.

As i focus more on what i do. And commit more to the walking of my understanding vs. the talking, i feel more connected to my calling. i use my heART to excavate and discover the spaces within myself that are longing for more light and love. So that i might bring, as best as i can, this energy into my interactions and contribute most meaningfully to Creation. So that i might fulfill my greatest Good.

...

It is in this moment that i innerstand the yearning and passion in the Negro Spiritual, "I Wanna Be Ready" (a song i discovered witnessing one of y favorite ballets, Revelations, which was choreographed by Alvin Ailey). It's essence so beautifully describes my heART:

"i wanna to be ready to put on my long white robe."

Peace & Much Love.

[imaginejoyy]

“your body is a work of art

a kinetic sculpture

a memoir written in flesh

the story you reveal

is the story of your life

an intricate narrative

of perseverance

and

joy” . –Kat Lehmann

[imaginejoyy]

"I tell my students, 'When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.'" --Toni Morrison

Every individual act of love and liberation impacts collective consciousness. ✨Ubuntu: "i am because We are, We are because i am."✨ Interconnected, may we move forward with intention. Rooted Purposefully in love. ❤️

With compassion, make it a great day!

[imaginejoyy]

“To get to a place where you could love anything you chose–not to need permission for desire–well now, that was freedom.” --Toni Morrison

All forms of liberation require willfull surrender and great love. Self-permission is Key! ❤️ With intention and sincere desire, make it a great day!

[imaginejoyy]

"If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” --Toni Morrison

Be the author of your living reality.

Create the outlines.

Fill them joy. life. and endless possibilities.

❤️

Write and rewrite all that moves your heART.

Gifts that can enable you in moments of sincere challenge.

Remind yourself how wondrous and grand life can be.

When we dance with hope. faith. and great love.

❤️

We are individual creators. Co-creating together within this physical space and time. With your magick, what will you create?

[imaginejoyy]

"You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.” – Toni Morrison

[imaginejoyy]

"If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it." --Toni Morrison

For there's a peaceful feeling when you surrender. With the power of peaceful intention, make it a great day!

[imaginejoyy]

i came out of the closet at Earth age 15 by wearing an "I Luv Dick" shirt to my high school on the Southside of Chicago--i tell this story every other year because it tickles me and brings back fond memories of the day i decided to set myself free. A few people already knew and many others were suspicious. But EVERY one gagged the moment they saw my shirt, especially my teachers. 🤣😂🤣

i will never forget how nervous i felt that morning in anticipation of what i was going to do (i believe it was one of the only times i attended school on time lol). i did not know what would result but i knew that things would never be the same. Inspired by the Queer ancestors that graced the Earth before me, carving a space of belonging by being true to themselves and their Purpose within Creation, i decided to join the dance: to move in alignment with who i intuited myself to be and make choices rooted in love that would impact future generations.

i knew coming out was not *just* about my personal liberation. Though i did not yet have the language, i understood very early-on that we are interconnected. It was this understanding, along with the vibrational remnants of the ancestors, that gave me the courage to do what i did. It was not easy. i wish i could say i never looked back but that wouldn't be completely honest. We live in a society that can be very cruel to anything outside of socially constructed ideas of "normal"... i can say with certainty though that i am forever thankfull i decided to say yes to my heART.

Coming/being out of "the closet" allowed, and challenged, me to speak my truth. And since life is a process of being and becoming, it challenges me to more intimately understand and know my truth as i evolve (as Creation evolves). Every day i come out to myself a little more as i strive to become conformed with love. As i learn how to optimize my love for self and others. As i seek to be one with Creation.

Stay true. The heART reJOYces.

[imaginejoyy]

Wake up and decide for yourself that you are going to have a great day. A great day won't necessarily always be a "perfect" day in the traditional sense, meaning you may still experience contrast. But setting your day with a powerful mindset grounds you in Purpose and equips you with mental and energetic support that can sustain and/or enable you in moments of hardship.

i do not support "toxic positivity": the superficial, "always be happy" bs. For me, positive thinking is not even necessarily about happiness (though happiness is certainly often a byproduct) but instead movement: what allows me agency when i am feeling "stuck"? How can i change the rhythm of my challenges so that they might become opportunities to evolve/expand? How do i create space within me to invite more breath and possibility?

Something that enables my journey is calling on the ancestors to walk with me throughout my day--depending on where my energy is, i will call upon specific ancestors for different strengths but usually i am more general. After sitting in meditation in the morning for about 15-20 minutes, i pray to invite the wisdom of those that have gracefully danced in this physical plane before me. i also pray to lovingly release the parts of myself that are no longer needed in my journey and to accept and/or level up to the new states of my becoming. i then turn on my morning inspiration playlist, which was created with love and intention, and allow the vibrations to tune me into home: that space/Source deep within heART that rests peacefuly in it's Divine inner-knowing. There are no words to truly describe it, but i can wholeheartedly say it is pure Joy.

Give Peace a chance. Make it a great day!

[imaginejoyy]

"The precise role of the artist, then, is to illuminate that darkness, blaze roads through that vast forest, so that we will not, in all our doing, lose sight of its purpose, which is, after all, to make the world a more human dwelling place." --James Baldwin

[imaginejoyy]

"It takes courage...to endure the sharp pains of self discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives." --Marriane Williamson

With sincere curiosity, we move forward in love and understanding

As we discover the process of evolving is never-ending.

Be brave, exercise humility

And enJOY, as best as you can, the Journey.

[imaginejoyy]

"In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans; in one aspect of You are found all the aspects of existence." --Kahlil Gibran Jr.

Be in love. With the magnitude of yOur Divine existence.

Rest easy. You were created perfectly, Purposefully.

[imaginejoyy]

The most beautiful thing about being an artist is feeling the power of Creation moving through you as it is channeled into a specific medium that allows/enables self-expression. As a dancer, i experience this viscerally as my body becomes the vehicle, the conduit through which spirit can flow. It's difficult to describe this experience with words. Magical or majestic would be the closest adjectives i could find.

Over the years, i have learned the clearer the vessel, the clearer the message. But to get to the point of surrender, where one is able to receive such gifts... is not always easy. True heARTistry requires vulnerability: a nakedness that is difficult for most to understand. Art is truthfulness which is impossible without a sincere willingness to confront the truth and it's evolution... And so, i continue to strip, dancing to the rhythmic unfolding of my heart, spirit, and soul. The desire for absolute freedom speaks tenderly and reminds me that i, like Creation, am endless in the possibilities of love.

Be True. The heART reJOYces.