Digital Poets – 2010 Knicks Poetry Slam

Last week I volunteered to judge a poetry contest at the Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe. The company is Urban Word NYC and the poet’s, they ranged from 14 – 17 years of age. Every year, students from across the United States get to compete in what is known as a poetry slam. Poetry is performed and articulated to an audience and a few people get to score the poets based on performance and content.

With passion in their hearts and the chance to win a full scholarship for their college career, these teenagers chose to speak with good diction, metaphorically using every form of visual and feeling of pain, pleasure and hope. I was elated as I marveled at a 14 year old boy named Vaughn who spoke a poem so well in comparison to my 14 year old poems that went a little something like this, “Me and You, You and Me/Together Forever, We will Be!”

Vaugh Kelly is one out of six teens who did not make it into the finals and they need your help! Come check out http://www.nba.com/knicks/community/poetryslam_vote.html for your change to judge! Whoever wins the Digital Slam will earn a lap top or anything that will contribute to their school needs.

Thanks!

I’d like to introduce myself

as a poet.

Behind my form is a knowing soul. Going through all the same things my ancestors have experienced in past lives. Fear keeps us stifled, battling challenges that we desperately need to overcome. I am the vine and the Universe bears fruit within me. So I share, I share because I am not alone in a world where obstacles vary but are not so different. I write so I can teach myself new things. I write because my soul talks this way and would like to share with the world. I write because I can hear my soul’s cry. I write for self reflection, for when I am missing peace, it can be found in words.

Dare I speak truths to anyone who wants to listen. For those who admit their mistakes and would like to change for the better. I write for you…

 

Artistic Ability

Coming from someone who is creative, I believe when an artist paints, writes, sculpts, imagines and then manifests, they speak from their subconscious. The picture, piece, painting, or sculpture, dance, or song, becomes an image of imagination of the souls mood. I saw this painting web surfing and thought it was an amazing imaginative piece. What do you get from it? How does it make you feel?

Mentorship and Networking

How many of us have goals? How many of us seek guidance and direction, inspiration even? Someone to build us up, someone to care for us to achieve what we’d like? This is where mentorship and networking come in.

For some, it is nerve wrecking. We think, “Who wants to talk to someone because we need something?” The truth is everyone starts out seeking guidance. It’s okay to talk to people who have insight, furthermore, you should build and  maintain your relationships with them.

Last week I was invited to SUNY Purchase College to speak to the pre freshmen. As an alumni, I offered my contact information for those that needed mentorship and/or a contact in the film industry. These students gave me a shocked look. Similarly, I gave my email address to students who were training to become production assistants, these students too perhaps 2 out of 13 emailed me to follow up.

Following up after receiving contact information is the most essential part of networking and/or gaining a new mentor. I would not be anywhere without the people who believe in me and who have decided to give me a helping hand.

If you have any questions on mentoring or networking please, feel free to comment or email me

Be Conscious: Full Moon in Sagittarius

FULL MOON REMINDER… Tuesday, July 7th at 5:21am – EDST, is the FULL MOON exact day and time in JULY! Don’t miss this chance to view your life objectively. During the three days around the Full Moon, you can see where you need to make changes in an important relationship. Once aware of your interaction, how can you best adjust your approach so that you can reach your life goals? It’s time for reevaluation.

This is the opportunity inherent in the FULL MOON. People often react emotionally during the days of the Full Moon due to a feeling of helplessness. They become aware of the distance between the way they want their life to be, and the way it currently is. Often, when they see this gap, they become upset.

The reflection from your environment shows you ‘what is’ – and this may be in stark contrast to the way you would like things to be. The empowerment is that once aware, you have the chance to change things successfully.

Because this FULL MOON occurs in the sign of CAPRICORN, the emotional energy stirred in the atmosphere is cool and calculating. There is a practical awareness of how current circumstances may not be supporting the security you need or your plans for the future.

You will be very aware of the limitations in your life that bind you through decisions based on family and a sense of protective emotional dependency. You may feel a certain coldness in your relationships. Those you are interacting with may be perceiving situations in a way that leads them to think they are not getting their way, leading to emotional drama. As is often the case with the days of the Full Moon, people get upset.

This is a powerful time (7/6-7/9) for reevaluating the new beginnings you made during the New Moon earlier this month. Re-read your wish list and notice how where you are now is either closer to – or further away from – the dreams in your heart that are important to you to manifest.

Given that this Full Moon is in the sign of CAPRICORN and combines with a LUNAR ECLIPSE, the emotional energy is likely to be even more stirred up than under the normal monthly Full Moon. You will be more aware than usual of your own needs for control of your destiny. What adjustments can you make in handling important relationships so that they become more supportive of your dreams?

The Full Moon in CAPRICORN opposes the Sun in CANCER, so what triggers upset is when people feel their basic safety needs are being threatened. Should this occur, they are likely to explode in a more forceful and rigid way than you may have expected. Step back, and allow them a temporary moment of feeling in control. Then when you show them the big picture of what is going on – what is happening with the other people involved – they will calm down.

Times during this Full Moon when the emotional intensity will be at it’s strongest:

Monday, 7/6 – all day and all night
Tuesday, 7/7 – all day and all night
Wednesday, 7/8 – all day and all night, especially volatile 5:43am – 11:03am
Thursday, 7/9 – the energy begins to calm

Courtesy of Paul Moreland

MIGUEL PIÑERO: A Lower East Side Poem

Miguel Piñero (19 December 1946 – 18 June 1988)

I first heard this poem by Miguel, a Puerto Rican playwright, actor, and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, during a therapeutic workshop ran by Aja-Monet at Odyssey house in NYC. Something about the emotion in this piece tied into the workshop was an extraordinary spiritual journey that allowed us to speak creatively with vulnerable expression.

I sit here today, multi-tasking, picking up expendables at a vendor for an independent feature and wanting to share this with you today. Feel free to comment.

A Lower East Side Poem

Just once before I die
I want to climb up on a
tenement sky
to dream my lungs out till
I cry
then scatter my ashes thru
the Lower East Side.

So let me sing my song tonight
let me feel out of sight
and let all eyes be dry
when they scatter my ashes thru
the Lower East Side.

From Houston to 14th Street
from Second Avenue to the mighty D
here the hustlers & suckers meet
the faggots & freaks will all get
high
on the ashes that have been scattered
thru the Lower East Side.

There’s no other place for me to be
there’s no other place that I can see
there’s no other town around that
brings you up or keeps you down
no food little heat sweeps by
fancy cars & pimps’ bars & juke saloons
& greasy spoons make my spirits fly
with my ashes scattered thru the
Lower East Side…

A thief, a junkie I’ve been
committed every known sin
Jews and Gentiles… Bums and Men
of style… run away child
police shooting wild…
mother’s futile wails… pushers
making sales… dope wheelers
& cocaine dealers… smoking pot
streets are hot & feed off those who bleed to death…

all that’s true
all that’s true
all that is true
but this ain’t no lie
when I ask that my ashes be scattered thru
the Lower East Side.

So here I am, look at me
I stand proud as you can see
pleased to be from the Lower East
a street fighting man
a problem of this land
I am the Philosopher of the Criminal Mind
a dweller of prison time
a cancer of Rockefeller’s ghettocide
this concrete tomb is my home
to belong to survive you gotta be strong
you can’t be shy less without request
someone will scatter your ashes thru
the Lower East Side.

I don’t wanna be buried in Puerto Rico
I don’t wanna rest in Long Island cemetary
I wanna be near the stabbing shooting
gambling fighting & unnatural dying
& new birth crying
so please when I die…
don’t take me far away
keep me near by
take my ashes and scatter them thru out
the Lower East Side…

Neptune Retrograde: Intuition Reigns

If you’ve been hiding your head in the sand about something in your life, retrograde Neptune can shine a light on your issue so you can see things clearly. Yes, we know – Neptune is the planet of illusion, dreams, drugs and denial. So how will it help your clarity?

From May 28 – November 4, 2009, Neptune’s retrograde motion will heighten your sensitivity to issues that have been hiding under the surface of your consciousness. During its yearly retrograde period, Neptune has the power to sweep away the psychic fog that keeps you in the dark. So over the next five months, you may discover an issue that keeps you from growing, or a long-lost dream that you need to explore.

Your inner world
At first, however, you may feel baffled by the emergence of something hidden (or semi-hidden) that’s suddenly in your face. It’s important to get in touch with any new feelings that arise. You don’t want to slam the door on your newfound awareness. Take some time to analyze what’s happening with you. Ask yourself if it’s something positive that you need to act on, or something negative that you need to eliminate from your life. Then take some steps to deal with it.

If you choose denial over awareness, a backlash may occur after Neptune turns direct in the fall. Disillusionment or a vague sense of dissatisfaction can be the repercussions of ignoring Neptunian lessons. Whatever is stuck in your psyche will affect you, one way or another.

Psychic sponge syndrome
Retrograde Neptune can also make you exceedingly sensitive to the feelings of others, especially people you’re close to. As such, you need good emotional boundaries so you don’t take on someone else’s negativity. If you suddenly feel depleted or confused, and nothing obvious has happened to make you feel that way, look to see if someone in your vicinity is feeling out of sorts. Then do something to get rid of the bad vibes, like a calming meditation or a stroll through the park – whatever makes you feel more centered. Needless to say, avoid negative people whenever possible.

Drugs and denial
Because Neptune rules mood-altering substances, beware of overindulging in drugs and alcohol, especially during Neptune’s retrograde period. This influence can make you especially susceptible to the illusionary effects of substances, which will diminish your clarity and cloud your judgment. Substances can also block the pathways between your unconscious and conscious mind. It’s like drawing a curtain across the window overlooking your inner life. You won’t grow if you can’t see what’s going on inside you.

Neptune’s blessings
Heeding Neptune’s messages through introspection, meditation, dream analysis or therapy will illuminate negative feelings that keep you stuck. The increased awareness that retrograde Neptune brings can help you make wiser choices so you can become the director of your own destiny.

Critical dates…

July 1-3: Lack of clarity in romance is likely when Neptune squares Venus and Mars at the beginning of July. Try not to make any major decisions regarding your relationship. It’s also a tricky time to embark on a new relationship. Your prospective partner may not be what they seem, or you may misinterpret their intentions, so check them out thoroughly and take your time.

July 1-8: The Mars-Neptune clash continues for another few days, which can prompt you to take action on the wrong project (or person!). Think before you leap.

July 30-31: Miscommunications and cloudy judgment are likely when Neptune opposes Mercury at the end of July. Double-check your communications, documents and contracts.

Mid-September: The Neptune-Venus opposition heightens artistic inspiration but is a poor time for making choices in relationships.

The purpose of Neptune is to show us the pathway to our spiritual source. It also dissolves the boundaries that keep people apart and helps us see that we are one spiritual family. Perhaps most important, Neptune is the planet of compassion that connects us all through love

Courtesy of California Psychics

Enjoy Your spiritual pursuit for they are stronger now. Envelop yourself in a good book and learn as much as you can about the beauty in the World.

Peace!