Peace Asiatics!
Most of you know that in each issue of The 14th Degree and Beyond Magazine we include a section called “Tell Us How you See It” in which we ask a series of questions (usually four) to be answered by our readers. The answers that we receive from YOU are then published in the following issue of the magazine.
The questions asked in the Spring 2009 “Appreciate Your Earth, Appreciate Your Nation” issue of our magazine were:
1) How do you prepare for an unexpected illness or death in order to secure your financial well-being and children’s future (ex. life insurance, "Godparents", long-term disability, living will, burial/cremation arrangements, etc.)?
2) Brothers, what do you do to show your Queen that you appreciate her?
3) What can seasoned Earths do to welcome new sistas into the Nation?
4) Please share your experience as a newborn Earth and how you were treated when you first came among the Nation?
Thus far we’ve received a good number of answers to our first two questions, but only one answer to our fourth question, and NO answers to the third.
So I would like to ask for your input, insight, and honest build on your experience – SISTERS, QUEENS, EARTHS – in regards to the following two questions so that they may be published in our Summer 2009 “Show & Prove” issue of The 14th Degree and Beyond:
What can seasoned Earths do to welcome new sistas into the Nation?
AND…
Please share your experience as a newborn Earth and tell us how you were treated when you first came among the Nation?
Thank you for your honest insight… I look forward to knowledging the builds (to not only see those with like experiences, but to learn how I can better interact with my sisters of this shared culture).
Peace! Eboni Joy Asiatic
7 comments:
Peace
To be brutally honest, I wasn’t treated very well. At first I was ignored or the ‘Earths’ come in the door wanting to take your head off if you try to build. I notice there is a lot of insecurities and a lot of focus goes to the men, even if they are abusive. I have been in the Nation for 5 years and was exiled because I expressed that I was abused, I was called liar because he was a strong builder and “highly respected”. There is no sisterhood, they only wanted to know if I memorized 120… that is horrible. The drama is on going amongst the women, no one talks anything out, or forgives. I have not personally offended anyone but was exiled. When knowledge was made born about an Earth being murdered by her God there were a lot of tears, morning, and bashing on the God because of her death. That didn’t just happen over night. To me that shows how backwards a lot of the women/ ‘Earths’ are. Someone doesn’t have to do anything to be abused, and doesn’t always take two.
The nation of peace was not very peace, I have experienced this with at least 80% of the Earths that I have encountered, yes even the so called “highly respected Earths”. A lot of the Earths wanted my God and shun me and only dealt with him, knowing that we were one. I know people claim that they had something to work on but the Elementary school yard stuff must end.
Lastly, one year I attended a peaceful Queens retreat and everything on surface was peace. A lot of women are being Abused by their God and ‘sadness’ floated around because of the stories, but nothing is done. No on really acted up because a lot of eyes were watching…. Expected. No one comes in and build only criticizes and condemns.
What should be done to welcome a new Earth is acknowledge her as a growing individual. Make yourself available to help them, even over the phone. Get to know them their likes and dislikes and not worry about what degree they are on or how much you accomplished and making it born to them. When there is miscommunication or something is lost in translation on the computer, pick up the phone! Ultimately build without prejudging, biasness, and insecurities.
Peace
Peace Queen,
If you are comfortable with it, I invite you to contact me directly - EJAEarth@yahoo.com. If you send me an email I'll send you my phone number through that avenue.
I really dislike hearing stories about any form of abuse/domestic violence, and I'm aware that it happens among all populations... even that of the Nation of Gods and Earths. I have known many sisters who were abused, and have seen a couple of them "popped in the mouth", "bitch slapped" and "choked-up" right in front of my eyes... literally. I know that I took the time to comfort those women, build with them... and I'll be straight up... I ENCOURAGED THEM TO LEAVE THEIR GODS... even if it meant returning to their parent's house. Do you know how many did leave their Gods? NONE OF THEM!!! And that is reason number one why people do not get involved in domestic violence situations, because honestly Queen, the power is in YOUR HANDS but only if you claim it! Sitting up waiting for sisters to hold your hand and walk you out the door will get you nowhere... as you well know from your experience.
And please,I don't mean to belittle the situation that happened to you. I don't understand where exiling falls into play. I've been in the nation for 12 years and have never heard of someone being "exiled" for speaking their mind... or sharing a personal experience.
I will be brutally honest in saying that a lot of young sisters DO NOT WANT the guidance of more experienced Earths because (1) they want to be equals so they want us to communicate as peers rather than "big sisters" or mentors or even parent figures... not understanding that equal means to share or to exchange... but it does NOT mean "the same" (2) they only want to be babied for lack of a better phrasing... they want people (Gods/Earths) to tell them how beautiful they are, smart they are, how they're growing leaps and bounds, and shower them with compliments without facing the fact that none of us are perfect and all of us benefit from constructive criticism and correction... but I notice that Earths don't want other Earths to correct them... I can't tell you how many times I've heard "age doesn't matter"... "your being older doesn't mean anything"... "just because you've been in the nation longer than me doesn't mean you know how to live out the culture any better than me"... and frankly all of those statements COULD BE true depending on who they're speaking to... but all too often they were speaking to someone who those statements were not a reflection of and they were dead wrong in their surmation. But instead of appreciate the correction, take the criticism constructively... they adopt the belief that everybody's "hatin'" on them... everybody ELSE has the problem and THEY are error free.
Can't live like that, and no, we won't be accepted like that either. If a sista can't accept the honest insight and guidance of her sisters, her sisters aren't going to respect her input in return... and then there is NO respect shared in the cipher because no one is knowledging each other's degree of knowledge!
As for myself, I have always made a point to focus on MYSELF and my own growth and development (as that is the basis of this culture - gaining knowledge of SELF), respecting the knowledge and wisdom shared with me by the better knowers (be they Gods OR Earths, and sharing what I know with the youth and with the Queens. And many times my builds have not been appreciated, not been respected... but because they're founded in what I know to be right and exact, I don't let other peoples feelings hold any weight in how I see myself and whether or not I still acknowledge and respect myself as an Earth and the best knower of what it is that I know!
Also, I have made a point to emphasize to sisters that they HAVE GOT TO TRAVEL to different areas and knowledge as many ciphers as possible in order to find those a-alikes that they can connect with. And sometimes you'll even fight and argue with them... but sisterhood is being able to check yourself and come back together, apologize, admit your wrongs never to repeat them! My closest sisters... I've fought against and side by side with ALL of them... and that's why they're my sisters, cause I know every aspect of them... the best part and the worst part and I accept, love and respect them as they are.
But had I remained strictly in my home circumference of C-Medina (Chicago)... HAHAHA! I wouldn't have ANY Earth-sistas... not a single one who I could truly connect with, relate to, and elevate with thru time and experience. It took them traveling to my home circumference from places like Denver, Boston, Baltimore... or me traveling to their's - be it in Now Why, Los Angeles, South Carolina, Detroit... in order for me to find those sisters who I know (regardless to whom or what) will be my sisters for life.
All things worth having take work to maintain Queen!
Peace
Okay, first, Pardon self... that was Eboni Joy Asiatic who wrote that build above... Peace... and this is still me!
And I realize that I'm about the most long-winded writer to ever walk the Earth, but I have to add on and continue this build... because I really do NOT want what I wrote above to have invalidatedany of what the Queen wrote.
LACK OF loyalty, respect, sincerity, comraderie, confidance... all runs rampant among the Earths. I went to an Earth retreat in 2007 and had the BEST time, I never cry in public and was still brought to tears by just acknowledging the individual AND collective greatness of all the women in attendance... and also by being moved to admited the wrongs I'd wrought on others. However... only a couple months later... the same sistas who were huggin' on me, praising me, and we confided in each other wanted ME exiled, wanted to serve a universal beatdown on me, convinced sistas who had never heard of me, spoken to me, didn't know anything about me to hate me and call me a "bitch" (heard this with my own ears... "yeah, she's a bitch!"... from someone I've never even met). I have had Earths TRY to be added onto my universe with my God behind my back (pretending to be my sister in my face and making no mention of her desire for the God), I've had those I thought my CLOSEST SISTERS (and I say that without exaggeration) get with my ex's (yes, this has happened multiple times) after we've broken up. I have witnessed elder Earths tell younger Queens to stay with their Gods even though they beat them, or have have brought home sexually transmitted diseases after cheating...
So all this to say... the Queen ain't lyin'! The lack of sisterhood and plain old RESPECT is a devil that is thriving in this Nation. We talk about it behind closed doors, but very few are willing to admit this publically and build on it collectively. Collectively... we want to pretend that everybody loves and respects each other... we do this for reasons that I just don't understand and couldn't begin to explain. I'm just not that kind of person, I'm a "bitch" because I say what's on my mind and how I say it is what it is and you'll never have to question where my loyalties lie and you'll never have to question my honesty... but this is why I have had problems with many Gods and Earths... MANY! Some who returned to me as a brother/sister and we made peace and it truly is all good... some who have never rematerialized in my universe. Some I miss and knowledge the mistakes I made in pushing them away and work not to repeat it with others whom I cherish, others... I'm better off without and intentionally deaded them in my cipher and that's they way I like it.
But what can we do... seriously sistas... WHAT WILL WE DO TO END THIS SNAKE SHIT, because we call ourselves Earths, most of us BELIEVE we have something valuable to share with the greater community that we call uncivilized 85s... but some of them treat each other (and us) better than WE treat each other and even treat our own individual selves!
Let's build on that!
Peace,
Eboni Joy Asiatic
Peace. In response to question #3,...here in Power Born, we have our Earth Ciphers the third Sunday of every month. We realized that once we had new sisters coming to add on to the cipher that we needed to develop a space just for them to go through different sciences and ask questions. Therefore, we brainstormed some topics (with the input of a newborn sister) regarding what we thought newborn sisters needed to know, or what we would have liked to learn in the beginning of our journey when we were newborns. From this brainstorming, we developed newborn classes, which take place an hour before our Earth Ciphers (the first few ran for a couple hours and we just let things flow...we were enjoying reminiscing on our experiences and building and sharing). These newborn classes are group discussions, as opposed to just one person teaching the class so that every Earth can add on with their experiences (there is a topic and some discussion questions).
Some of our topics include why you decided to get knowledge of self (essentially, what brought you here, what is your story, who are you), study tips when going from knowledge to pluto, making the knowledge applicable to your life and local, national and international arenas, the science of our specific dietary laws and nutrition, 3/4ths and why we dress modestly, and others.
Each Earth alternates in teaching the class within the Earth Cipher (2 different things...newborn class and Earth Cipher). Once a newborn sister has gotten through the Supreme Alphabet, she is added on to the rotation of teaching classes within the Earth Cipher. The first class every newborn sister teaches is Nations History to establish a solid foundation of where she is at, and to ensure that she has a proper context for why she is doing what she is doing by being a part of this great Nation.
In addition to that, we strive to keep regular contact with newborn sisters (one Earth may take on primary responsibility or several sisters...for instance, if a sister comes to this Nation by way of my influence, I will take primary responsibility for mentoring her as an older sister...this of course, is an add on to the God she is being formally taught by and whatever I manifest to her cannot conflict with what he is teaching her). Once a newborn sister comes amongst the cipher, we offer up our contact information and we build with her and call her, however it is generally her primary responsibility to reach out and show initiative to make herself known and bond herself to the cipher.
So, in conclusion, it's not the ya-ya sisterhood and it ain't like church. It's not an outpouring of love and affection because as a newborn, we are still getting to know you. Different sisters may play different roles and come with different currents (always welcoming and respectful though, but you may have one sister asking questions, one sister making sure she is comfortable, one sister doing the knowledge, one sister building on what this culture is about in a warm current). In the beginning, there may be a process of "examination" because you want to know who is amongst you, so yeah, you will get asked what degree you are on or where you are at in your studies because the knowledge is the bond between all of us, and if that is not your primary motivation, we will detect that. Once certain things are established over time, then the "warm and fuzzy" bond of sisterhood comes into play.
So I would say that it takes a balance of energy and application when welcoming a newborn sister...a balance of meeting her where she is at, and setting a standard for how we roll, through example and the environment that is created...setting a standard that this will not be a gossiping, God bashing, Earth bashing, trying to prove that you build better or are better than this Earth or that Earth, ego-trippin,venting session. Whatever personal issues a sister may have or if she needs to vent about something personal in her cipher, that is not the best forum for that and should be done with a sister she trusts offline (of course unless it's a real serious situation and she needs some group input). You must come to the cipher prepared to stand on your foundation and build, utilizing whatever knowledge you have (whether if it's just Nations History or Knowledge in Supreme Mathematics...you are accountable for what you know and may be asked about it). Wherever you're at in your studies, no matter how new you are, you build on the days mathematics so that we can start getting a sense of who you are and how you are thinking of and utilizing this knowledge that we all hold dear to us. The knowledge comes first, then the wisdom, and we all have to be aware of our currents when building with newborn sisters (if your choice is to be cold for a specific reason, that's what it is...just be aware of it, so you don't get caught in the whole "rubbing someone the wrong way when you didn't mean to" situation. And as a newborn, you can't be too sensitive because you will not be babied. The journey of getting KOS is beneficial but it is not easy. There are ups and downs, challenges and triumphs but that's what makes you healthy, strong and good.
Peace
I Medina Peaceful Earth
Peace I Medina!
Another wonderful, valid and valuable add-on... so much so that I must reiterate how just and true the following is:
"So, in conclusion, it's not the ya-ya sisterhood and it ain't like church. It's not an outpouring of love and affection because as a newborn, we are still getting to know you. Different sisters may play different roles and come with different currents (always welcoming and respectful though, but you may have one sister asking questions, one sister making sure she is comfortable, one sister doing the knowledge, one sister building on what this culture is about in a warm current). In the beginning, there may be a process of "examination" because you want to know who is amongst you, so yeah, you will get asked what degree you are on or where you are at in your studies because the knowledge is the bond between all of us, and if that is not your primary motivation, we will detect that. Once certain things are established over time, then the "warm and fuzzy" bond of sisterhood comes into play."
Very... VERY well worded!
Peace and thanks for sharing your knowledge and wisdom on the topic!
Eboni Joy Asiatic
My experience as a new earth is a rather hard one. I am just now studying for knowledge of self and there is so much that I want to learn and I need to learn. When I reach out to Queens they are very short with me. They feel because they had knowledge of self that they don't have time to educate another. Peace to IBEASIA who first took time to teach me what the Nation was all about. I am still seeking wisdom from Queens who are willing to educate others. It is sad to say that a lot of Queens who say they have knowledge refuse to share that knowledge. Don't get me wrong because I believe that some things you have to learn on your own to be able to apply knowledge to your personal circumstances but it would be nice to have some guidance along the way!
Peace Lyric,
Thank you for sharing your views and experience. I didn't have older, more experienced Earths around to help guide me thru my accomplishments and trials when I was a newborn in the Nation. Not until I joined the PeacefulQueens YahooGroup and started building with sisters all over the circumference. Their input, and shared experiences definitely made me more aware of what it is to be an Earth, and when I finally made my pilgrimage to Mecca nearly four years after I began my studies in this culture I was (1) prepared to learn from the elders, take correction and criticism maturely, and reflect what I was learning through my words, ways, actions and even appearance, and (2) I took the initiative to make the most of my time spent in the physical among elders (Gods AND Earths), more seasoned Earths (even if they were in my generation), and even my peers who I learned what TO do from and what NOT TO do from.
I am always open to build with Earths, that is one of my reasons for being in the Nation of Gods and Earths - to exchange in knowledge and wisdom with the Queens and gain light from the Gods. And I see it as my responsibility to lead younger sisters in the right direction as older and more mature sisters led me.
I always have to give this disclaimer though, because my hand wasn't held when I was taught, I don't baby younger Earths - that is just my style and some people do find it harsh. If you keep in mind that the truth is the truth regardless, and that a sincere person always wants to see you become the best you can be (and that means giving praise AND correction when due) then you'll love me! (smile) I verse with sisters like I'd verse with my own 16 year old biological sister - keeping it real, keeping it simple, keeping it truthful. I can be a relatively critical person, part of that is because I appreciate correction and insight myself - and as I teach and lead others, I know that I must allow myself to be led by the best knower(s) too.
My email address is EJAEarth@yahoo.com, my myspace is www.myspace.com/ebonijoy. Born me thru either of those channels and I'll give you my math as well.
FYI - IBeAsia is a beautiful Sista, she knows her lessons, and very importantly - SHE KNOWS HER SELF! You found a proper guide in her!
Peace,
Eboni Joy Asiatic
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