Continued Education

Peace -

Recently I have decided to go back to school... and I am studying for my assessment tests... yikes. It is interesting that there is so much that I have forgotten. I remember speaking to myfriend a while back and he said that a few of his friends and he had taken the GED Practice test on a whim and everyone tested at a 9th or 10th grade level. lol. But when you think about that... it is not so strange.

Once you have been OUT of school for 10 years or more how would you remember the dates of everything from Social Studies or Science... and that got me to thinking. Why don't they make the testing for re-admittance to college more life skilled based. On things that you use on a regular basis? Ofcourse there should be things in the writing, math and literature sections that should be known from HS however, Social Studies and Science? If those aren't a part of your daily life or what you are striving to have a career in... should those be included in the testing?

Now, my assessments are on just English and Math but... I had those questions in my mind so I thought I would put them out there.


Peace

Q. Civilized

When are they ready for our teachings?

Peace Fam,

This conversation has been coming up a lot for me lately. I have been hearing of people who say that they would not teach their children Supreme Math and Supreme Alpha when they are "so young". I am wondering when is the right age in your opinion to teach children Supreme Mathematics? Supreme Alphabets? 120? Would you include the 12 Jewels? Why Why Not? and When is the right time to teach them that?

Also, One God told me that he would not teach his daughter 120 since those degrees were meant for The Black Man here in the Wilderness to prepare him to go back and get his woman but that he would make sure that she knows the 14th degree in the 1-14. What is your opinion on that? Is it necessary for our daughters to learn 120? Is there more of an emphasis on our sons learning it than our daughters? He said that he would also not teach his son unless his son asked to learn it and that he wasnt held responsible to teach until he was 16 anyway. What are your thoughts?

Peace,
Devotion

Tell Us How You See It

Peace Asiatics,

This is the first "Tell Us How You See It" questions we asked in our Autumn 2009 Issue "WISDOM REVOLUTION: Still In Balance". Your answers - unless you state that you do not want them shared in the magazine - will appear in the next, Winter 2009-10, issue.

So build with us...

1. What is a Black Woman's responsibility to her Black man?

I'll state my understanding (which won't be published since I'm a staff writer as it is), and it's based on my responsibility to MY Black man as I know he wants it to be, as is inherent in me as a woman, and as I choose them based on my interests and abilities. To be respectful, supportive - and by that I mean it's often falls on the woman to take action (wisdom) to manifest - or help manifest - his ideas, make and keep a peaceful and nurturing home environment, to raise our children in accord with his/our teachings and ideals, to carry myself - and partake in actions - that command respect abroad, to be compromising, to tell him what I need (rather than rely on him to guess), to choose my words carefully, and work cooperatively to maintain our relationship and kingdom.

Peace,
Eboni Joy Asiatic

Governing our own "Best Part" Health Care

Peace and Blessings,

As you may have heard, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a panel of independent (so-called)experts, recently updated the guidelines for breast cancer screening. In short, these guidelines state the following:

•Women between the ages of 40 and 49 should not be routinely screened.
•Women between the ages of 50 and 74 should be screened every two years.
•Screenings are unnecessary for women 75 and older.
•Women should not be taught how to perform breast self-examinations.
•There is no additional benefit to clinical breast examination by doctors, nor are there added benefits to digital mammography or magnetic resonance imaging over film mammography.

What does this mean for Original women? The problem with many of these Task Forces, government policies, or guidelines when it comes to our own healthcare, is it usually serves too much as template for the initiative that we may or may not take to obtain proper care for ourselves - especially when it comes to our breasts, and cancer. Among Original women, it is reported that not only do we suffer the highest cases of deaths from breast cancer but also that we are diagnosed with it at younger age - sometimes in our late 30's and early 40's. Many times we lack the resources for gaining proper healthcare so we tend to not be forthright about getting proper diagnosis.

Our lessons teach that we everything has a source - a cause, and effect. We know that we should not sit up and wait for a mystery to bring us food, clothing and shelter. I would also add to that, that we should also not let a mystery (these unknown task forces, officials, government politics) govern the way we seek care for our bodies. Be cognizant and proactive about your preserving your best part. If there are women in your family with a history of breast cancer, then have yourself checked. If you practice self-exams and find something abnormal, have yourself checked.

PEACE
Victorious Lanasia Earth

14th Degree & Beyond Magazine Updates (info for subscribers included)

Peace,

Just a few updates about The 14th Degree and Beyond:

1) Any supporters who began their annual subscription with the December/Winter 2008/09 Issue - your subscription expired with the Autumn 2009 Issue and is now due for renewal. Subscription payments can easily be made online via your PayPal account to the14thdegreeandbeyond@comcast.net. Otherwise, they should be mailed as a money order to:
The 14th Degree and Beyond / P.O. Box 2134 / Teaneck, NJ 07666-1534.

Electronic Subscriptions (emailed to you in the form of a PDF file) are $20
Print Subscriptions (postal mailed to your address, to cover postage) are $28
Individual Issues are $6 print
Back issues are $4
(An additional $2 shipping fee is required for individual and back issues that are postal mailed)

For more info on subscriptions contact Queen Civilized Zag.

Contact Eboni Joy Asiatic for advertising information (prices have been slashed in half for this volume: business card sized ad space per issue is $5, 1/4 page ads $10, 1/2 page ads $20, full page ads $40, and back cover full-color ads are $60).

To contribute articles, poetry or recipes, or submit answers to our "Tell Us How You See It" questions, contact SciHonor Devotion or Victorious Lanasia Earth.
(Articles, poems and recipes should be sent as MS Word documents.)

ALL inquiries can be sent to the14thdegreeandbeyond@comcast.net or to each individual directly via our "top myspace friends" - http://www.myspace.com/the14thdegreeandbeyond

2) We have a blog at http://14thdegree.blogspot.com/ that is updated every week by a staffer of The 14th Degree and Beyond with vital builds and valuable information. Please do the knowledge and post your comments freely in an exchange of knowledge and wisdom.

The current blog is about urban gardening and details how to build your own compost heap in preparation for "cool season crops" and year-round.

3) In every issue of The 14th Degree and Beyond Magazine we pose a series of "Tell Us How You See It" questions, and we publish the submitted answers in the following issue. The questions posed in the Autumn 2009 Issue "WISDOM REVOLUTION: Still In Balance" were:

1. What is a Black Woman's responsibility to her Black man?

2. Is it is acceptable for a Caucasian woman be considered or called "The
Earth"?

3. What are some ways we can break the cycle of financial illiteracy within
our ciphers?

4. TELL US, what do you, as a subscriber, want to see in our magazine,
whether new sections, articles regarding certain topics, more builds on
the lessons, etc.?

You do not have to be a subscriber to answer any of the above questions (except for #4 of course). Please send your answers to us at the14thdegreeandbeyond@comcast.net or even to our myspace inbox. Answers to the above questions will be published in the Winter 2009/10 issue of the magazine.

4) Some features within our current Autumn 2009 Issue are:

"Love Your People Day" a Nation(al) Holiday founded by the young elementary school aged God Ptah Alah of Love Allah (Los Angeles, CA).

An interview with the Elder Earth Earthly Embrace - one of the original founders of The 14th Degree and Beyond Magazine/School.

"A Struggle is a Struggle, What a Beautiful One It Is" by Maternal Luminous Earth

Petition to name the corner of 126th St. & Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd.
After ALLAH, THE FATHER, submitted by Lajik 17.

"Holistic Approaches to Prenatal Health, Labor and Delivery" by Eboni Joy Asiatic

The benefits of the herb chickweed (by Queen Civilized Zag), eating brown rice rather than white rice (by SciHonor Devotion), and Ital cooking (by Victorious Lanasia Earth) are only a few of the tips given in this Autumn 2009 issue of the magazine.

It also includes information on how to get your seed(s) involved in The Pen Pal Project (a pen pal fellowship for the youth), the science of "Many Are Chosen" (by Gaumaal Complete Allah), and how to express your self-styled wisdom through 3/4ths of cloth (by S'Mas Born Earth).

There are also Nation news updates, birth announcements, various recipes, poems, and activities and lessons for the seeds within each and every issue of the magazine!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One way to Nation Build is to support your Nation media in the various ways mentioned in this posting - purchasing a subscription, submitting news about your local cipher, contributing articles, etc!

Build with us... the14thdegreeandbeyond@comcast.net

Peace!
The Staff of The 14th Degree and Beyond Magazine
Eboni Joy Asiatic, Queen Civilized Zag, SciHonor Devotion and Victorious Lanasia Earth

Composting (and Supporting Urban Farms)

Peace,

Eboni Joy Asiatic here! It's not my blog week, but I MISSED my blog week being distracted by other happenings in my life. So I'm obliged to make up for lost time; and wanted to share some valuable information I came upon with our readers.

I receive a weekly newsletter from a local, black-owned farm out here in Allah's Garden (Atlanta) called Truly Living Well Natural Urban Farms. Their website is - www.trulylivingwell.com. This week's newsletter is about Composting and the planting of "cool season crops" like greens, beets, onions, carrots, and turnips; and I'd like to share with you their tips to building your own compost heap:

Composting
(reprinted from the Truly Living Well Natural Urban Farms Weekly Newsletter of November 11, 2009)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leaf raking season is near. Most people think of fallen leaves as an eyesore to be raked up and removed. Brown paper bags full of dried oak and maple leaves line neighborhood streets throughout the city. The trucks picking up this "trash" are removing a grand source of material for fertilizing gardens. This is the time of year for gathering material to make compost, the best substance there is for making good soil

Composting is a natural form of recycling which continually occurs in nature. Insects, earthworms, bacteria and fungi help transform the material into compost. An ancient practice, compost is the fundamental soil enhancer, essential for maintaining fertile and productive agricultural land. All food and animal wastes should be composted before being added to the soil.

Composting is the transformation of plant matter through decomposition into a soil-like material called humus or compost. It is the controlled conversion of dead organic material into a stable form by the action of beneficial microbes, generating sufficient heat to kill all weed seeds and harmful pathogens, while producing a stable end product. Aerobic composting is the most common process used commercially and in our backyards.

Today there are several different reasons why composting remains an invaluable practice. Compost added to gardens improves soil structure, texture, aeration, and water retention. When mixed with compost, clay soils are lightened, and sandy soils retain water better. Mixing compost with soil also contributes to erosion control, soil fertility, proper pH balance, and healthy root development in plants.

Decomposition occurs naturally anywhere plants grow. When a plant dies, its remains are attacked by microorganisms and invertebrates in the soil, and it is decomposed to humus. This is how nutrients are recycled in an ecosystem. This natural decomposition can be encouraged by creating ideal conditions. The microorganisms and invertebrates fundamental to the composting process require oxygen and water to successfully decompose the material. The end product of the process is soil-enriching compost.

Keys to Good Composting

• The carbon/nitrogen ratio: A mixture of dry leaves, sawdust, or other sources of carbon combined with manure, green plants, or fertilizer for nitrogen (approximately 3:1 by volume).
  
• The presence of microorganisms: A few shovels full of rich garden soil or compost will supply these.
  
• The moisture level: The pile should have the moisture of a well-squeezed sponge. Add water as needed.
  
• The oxygen level: A compost pile should be turned periodically to promote decay of its contents. Turning the pile adds oxygen, so the more you turn it, the faster it breaks down. (Turning heavy, rotting leaves and grass is vigorous exercise!)
  
• The particle size: The finer the particle size, the more surface there is for microorganisms to work. Shredding leaves and larger materials generates compost faster. Making Good Compost

Locate your compost pile on a well-drained site which would benefit from nutrients running off the pile. Your pile can be built gradually in layers and then turned over to mix. Or if you have sufficient material, it can be mixed and blended at one time.

• To ensure good aeration and drainage, put down a 3-inch layer of coarse plant material such as small twigs or chopped corn stalks, or a wooden pallet.
• Next, add about 8 to 10 inches of leaves or other dry organic wastes from your landscape and/or kitchen.
  
• Provide nitrogen for compost-promoting microorganisms by adding 2 to 3 inches of fresh grass clippings or fresh manure.
  
• If no soil is included in your compost material, add a sprinkling of soil or a compost starter to each layer to inoculate the pile with microorganisms.
• Moisten the pile as you add leaves and other dry material.
  

Mix the materials thoroughly. Shape the pile so its center is lower than its sides, to help water flow into the pile. Keep the pile moist, but not soaking wet. Within a few days, it should heat up. If not, it may lack nitrogen or moisture. If the pile emits an ammonia smell, it is too wet or too tightly packed for oxygen circulation; turn the heap and add coarse material to increase air space. Once a month, turn the pile with a pitch fork, putting the outside materials on the inside and vice versa.

The plant materials should decompose into compost within five months in warm weather, longer under cool or dry conditions. Composting may be completed in one or two months if the materials are shredded, kept moist, and turned several times to provide good aeration. Spread it in the garden and dig or till it under to offer your soil and plants renewed vigor.

Compost All of Your Home Waste

Grass clippings and fall leaves are abundant compost materials for most homeowners. Collect vegetable and fruit peelings, coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, and similar kitchen waste for your compost pile. Don't use meat waste; it attracts animals. Acquire additional materials, such as sawdust, manure, hay, or straw from sources such as stables and carpenter shops.

If you have questions, send an email to admin@trulylivingwell.com and we will do our best to answer you promptly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you reside in the Atlanta area Truly Living Well Natural Urban Farms sells compost for $10 per gallon. They also host various gardening classes throughout the year. This is a community garden, so all vegetation is sold at a reasonable price and is also open to supporters of cooperative economics who would like to purchase their produce in full or half barrels on a regular basis. Pick-up is on Wednesdays from 3pm to 6pm, and you are encouraged to tour the field and select your own produce. To learn what's being harvested currently go to - www.trulylivingwell.com/growing.html.

The farm is located at 3353 Washington Road, East Point, GA. The primary owner/operator is Brotha K. Rashid Nuri, and he can be reached at admin@trulylivingwell.com.

Peace!
Eboni Joy

Working it Out Within...

Peace and Blessings. One of the things I noticed about my self lately is that schedule, commitments, decisions, the filtering of the everyday technological stimuli, and other "debris" has simply turned my mind and thoughts into a raceway - both in speed and noise. I also noticed that as time goes on, I am not clearing out space in my thoughts and mind, but yet just cramming more things in there to remember, recall, to do, to process, and to filter. I realized this mostly at night when I would have trouble falling to rest - sometimes not getting the point where I could sleep until well into the wee hours of the morning. The insomnia really started to take a toll on me so I realized I had to do something about this and learn to quiet my mind somehow.

Quieting the mind teaches us how to focus more on the present moment, instead of on the future or on the past. It is said that 80% of our thoughts are spent on the future and on the past. Worrying about future events creates stress, anxiety, and depression over things that have not yet happened. Thinking about past events causes us to criticize or judge ourselves for how we handled certain situations in the past, instead of letting them go and moving forward. By replaying these events again and again in our minds, we create the stress each time as well.

Learning to live in the moment and enjoy the moment for what it is can be a very empowering skill to learn. Not only does it help lessen our stress and anxiety, it also teaches us to appreciate what we do have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

A co-worker lent me a book called Cares that Infest by Cecil A Poole, a book written in 1978 that really speaks to exactly what issues I was having. In the book, he discuss these "infestations" as our everyday problems and how they keep us true happiness. Basically, it is a realization that we all have problems - but its how we solve them that affects our individual development and our relationships with others. Learning, he emphasizes, comes from both our problems and from our solutions. He shows how to recognize specific issues - worry, insomnia, fear, and how to develop a practice philosophy of life to alleviate the burnden and heaviness that is caused by these difficulties. This particular book has given me the tools to begin to learn how to quiet and refocus my mind and energies the few important things in life that bring me happiness.

The other methodology that has really begun to help also is perpetual meditation. Many of us may practice meditation but often times it is done within a particular time and space, so the quieting of the mind is on a finite level. Instead I wanted to learn how to practice this on a regular basis, so that I can create a built-in filter so to speak, which will frequent my quiet moments, rather than merely dismiss them for a short period of time. I am still working on this one.

What ways do you "Work it out from within" or quiet your mind? Do you find that you worry about things that are not in your control, that you fear, or that you are unsure about? Let's hear your build on it.

PEACE
Victorious Lanasia Earth