S.T.A.N.D. LIKE  KING

A Framework for Facing Impossible Odds, Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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When I was 10 years old, I pulled Coretta Scott-KIng’s book “My Life with Martin Luther King Jnr,” from Uncle Sam’s library. He gave it to me. And  from then on MLK became a guiding light.  

MLK’s legacy reads like this: “Martin Luther King refused to allow prison, violence or the threat of death to sway his mission. Instead,  he stood beside his goal of achieving human rights for all through nonviolent protests.”

How was it possible for him to stand like this, I often wonder?

I have a sense that he is still standing.

I have already noted that 2025 is an EARTH year uniquely attended by chaos and imbalances, yet it is also an opportunity for self-empowerment in every aspect of your life.

The tendency at times like this might be to try to run away from the present moment. We do this when we allow ourselves to identify with the confusion, uncertainty, ignorance and po...

Dear One,

In the aftermath of COVID, the rise of geopolitical polarization, and the increasing cost of living, many of us are wondering how to stay aligned with our goals, dreams, and desires while maintaining a sense of purpose during this particular period of volatility and uncertainty.

I have found refuge in my practice.

From 2004 to 2009, I studied and trained with Malidoma Patrice Somé, a Dagara elder from Burkina Faso. According to Malidoma, the five elements of creation, illustrated below, provide a powerful individual and communal ecosystem, offering profound insights into one’s purpose, relationships, challenges, and path in life.

The following is a look ahead to 2025, using the elemental tools and knowledge I have gained from my time with Malidoma, as well as additional guidance from other wisdom traditions, and insight from years of practicing what I now call the Philosophy of BLOOMING.

2025 GENERAL OVERVIEW

In the tradition of the Dagara, the last digit of each y...

 At the BLOOM Institute each week is dedicated to an element of creation – MINERAL, NATURE, FIRE, WATER and EARTH. This week is a NATURE WEEK.

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Last Sunday, I ventured out to the "Soul Summit" in Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn. The event was alive with great house music and a diverse crowd, each person in their own unique state of being. I found myself among wonderful new friends and encountered some old acquaintances I’d rather forget. The experience felt like a paradoxical blend of hopes, dreams, disappointments, sadness, happiness, and hope. It was a wild walk filled with exhilaration and terror, much like life itself.

I trust you can relate. 

Life mirrors this wild dance, reflecting our encounters with each other across borders and differences, amidst the challenges of a warming planet, political uncertainty, and conflict; even as massive leaps in technology are connecting us in ways we’re only beginning to understand.

This all calls for a playful encounter...

It was written out pretty clearly on the promotional copy Sitsofe the BLOOMFEST tour coordinator sent out inviting the community to join us on a hike to the peak of “the highest mountain in Ghana.”

 I read it, but somehow it did not register. After all, I am one of the producers with a zillion things on my mind and climbing 2904 feet up a hill was not one of them.

Cut to this…

….to my horror at the mid-way sign, I realized  I might not be able to make it to the top. 

“So much for taking on the ``IMPOSSIBLE,” I thought to myself as I panted for air, during a pause at the halfway point.

Mind you, I exercise regularly, I think I am a fairly fit 60 something man. But there I was trying to keep pace with people in their 20s, 30s and 40s. 

Shame saps your energy.

Chantal one of the BLOOM Guides thankfully had the good sense to call for a group pause to re-center when we realized this was not what it seemed.

The climb started off at a fair pace in a light drizzle that the group seem...