Singing TreesWellness

Welcome to the

Rifft Valley

A fictional place inspired by the real thing

A Riff is a chord progression that typically repeats beginning in the intro and throughout the piece of music. The horns in Craig Mack's Classic,

New Flava in Ya Ear comes to mind for example. A rift is a geological disruption in the normal surface contours of a landmass. The Great Rift Valley pictured here is a series of trenches extending from Mozambique in Southeast Africa to the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon. In a flash of reconning, I merged the two ideas together. The rift appears as a great keloid scar on the skin of the African landscape. A metaphor for a traumatic wound yet to heal, accompanied by a haunting repeating melody.

Contemplative Practice

The Intersection of

Spirituality

and

Mental Health

SINGING TREES WELLNESS
Explores the relationship between Art, Culture, and its influence on the health of Black and Indigenous populations. These groups remain at the highest risk for poor health outcomes for chronic diseases like Diabetes, Hypertension,Kidney Disease and Obesity inspite of advances in health care.

WHEN SELF CARE ISN'T WORKING

Where I am from in the South there is an expression;

YOU DOING TO MUCH. It's equal parts observation and warning. I should have known better, Monday, not the day to be overly optimistic. There I was hitting all my targets in my morning routine. Morning Meditation check, Bed made, check stretching exercise check, coffee, Taichi, kitchen tidy up, triple check. By 10:00 Oclock I was in full meltdown. What happened?

1.Doing to many tasks one after the other

2. Not taking breaks

3.Unrealistic expectations

What I learned, Self Care is not a Force Field against having a bad day, it's a practice that builds resource and resilience for when bad days happen

Race, Gender, Class, Sexual Orientation, Religion, Ethnicity, Culture...,

Highlight differences that delineate borders between us that become (false) barriers to belonging

-Sebene Selassie

When used as tools of oppression these labels have the power to alter and distort one's perception of who you are, but whom you hope to become. Operating under the influence of false narratives is analogous to showing up to your life intoxicated every day. Every area of a person's life will potentially be impacted, from health to relationships, education career...

Mindfulness and other forms of Contemplative practice offer an antidote to microaggression and other forms of toxic Racialized behavior. An unfortunate reality; we still have to live and work beside people who don't play well with others. Mindfulness can't change our reality. It can change our approach and the level of resource we bring to bear when meeting the inevitable challenges of daily life.

Make the first move to End Health Disparity

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Explore the Legacy of the Moors

Congratulations

Youtube Web Series

Professional Black Girl

Celebrating Black Women and Girls

Season 2

Alhambra a 13th-century fortress built in Granada Spain, by the Moors at a time when the rest of Europe had fallen into deep cultural darkness, bringing its social and political development to a screeching halt, referred to by historians as the Dark Ages. Alhambra, on the other hand, was a LITT and WOKE example of State of the Art, including paved streets, street lights, indoor plumbing, libraries, and hospitals... Built on the ruins of a Roman fort, Alhambra is a monument to the golden age of the Islamic Moors