Eat-Mangoes-Nekkid

Magick Moon Women|A film by INdia

2010-10-23T22:37:00.000-05:00

Magick MOon Women|A film by India O. Ame'y from india-saudade on Vimeo.

honouring the feminine. our blood has purpose. women of the earth, our bodies are sources of creation. we are not dirty, fractured, cursed, or anything similar. our bodies are holy. women are holy, as are men. participate in the shift back into the center, back to a pla...ce of balance. back to a place of worship. it's starts with self.

Photo by Saudade

2010-06-26T10:21:00.001-05:00

Please check out "A Photo and A Painting A DAY", created by my partner Saudade and me. Enjoy!!!

Tipsy Lovers on a Saturday night

2010-06-26T10:20:00.000-05:00

Osun: Return of the Mothers

2010-06-16T11:01:00.001-05:00

Osun: Return of the Mothers from india-saudade on Vimeo.

Great Cosmic Mamas' Templar Spaceship

2010-06-09T23:43:00.001-05:00

2010-06-05T12:18:00.002-05:00

Photo 1: "India" by Saudade

Photo 2: "Saudade" by India

Hostel in the Forest MIni Tour with India

2010-06-05T12:15:00.002-05:00

Back packing in the nude

2010-06-04T21:44:00.000-05:00

my 34th earthday celebration

i was so gone in this photo....felt like i'd transitioned somewhere into something.

i am a wildseed in full bloom.

i can not tell you how being immersed miles into nature and feeling interconnected to everything around me (sometimes scared) yielded the best high I could ever imagine....no herb necessary.

i got 30 bug 'love' bites and it was so worth it..

blessings!

give thanks to the ancestors, known and unknown

saudade's jazz, arts, and sex (an OLOwo production)

2010-05-19T05:15:00.001-05:00

Meet Artist and Lover, Saudade

2010-04-07T19:23:00.004-05:00

Check out her amazing work HERE
And she's the sweetest, most butterest lover on the planet!

The Resilience of Women

2010-03-23T23:07:00.010-05:00

Currently Watching:
Yeelen (Brightness), a film about a young Malian man with magical powers who travels to his uncle to request help in fighting his sorcerer father and meets a beautiful woman who shifts his journey and perspective.

At this moment, I am thinking about women all over the continent doing more with 'less'. My confidence and strength are fostered by hearing, reading, and listening to these stories. They are Aje. This was amazing film directed by Gini Reticker documenting the success of Liberia women, who galvanized to bring peace to their country and never gave up!

Healing Serum

2010-03-15T01:03:00.004-05:00

I have to be a healer; My ancestors blood still run through my veins. I realized that I experience the presence of god/dess almost solely in nature. So-called "holy" books and churches do nothing for me except cause me to ask more questions. the night-time sky is my cathedral; and my body is my temple. There's a reason the forests, the mountains, the moon, the warmer seasons heal my soul. It's a place I am most comfortable occupying that allows me to be most aware of my spirit. I find answers in my own reflection.

An answer to a man's question, "what can i do about women's liberation?"

2010-03-15T00:45:00.001-05:00

Wear a dress.
Wear a dress that you made yourself, or bought in a dress store.
Wear a dress and underneath the dress wear elastic, around your hips, and underneath you nipples.
Wear a dress and underneath the dress wear a sanitary napkin.
Wear a dress and wear sling-back, high heeled shoes.
Wear a dress, with elastic and a sanitary napkiin underneath, and sling-back shoes on you feet and walk down Telegraph Avenue.
Wear a dress, with elastic and a sanitary napkin and sling-back shoes on Telegraph Aevenue and try to run.

Find a man.
Find a nice man who you would like to ask you for a date.
Find a nice man who will ask you for a date.
Keep your dress on.
Ask the nice man who asks you for a date to come to dinner.
Cook the nice man a nice dinner so the dinner is ready before he comes and your dress is nice and clean and wear a smile.
Tell the nice man you're a virgin, or you don't have birth control, or you would like to get to know him better.
Keep your dress on.
Go to the movies by yourself.

Find a job.
Iron your dress.
Wear your ironed dress and promise the boss you won't get pregnant (which in your case is predictable) and you like to type, and be sincere and wear your smile.
Find a job and get on welfare.
Borrow a child and get on welfare.
Borrow a child and stay in the house all day with the child, or go to the public park with the child, and take the child to the welfare office and cry and say your man left you and be humble and wear you dress and your smile, don't talk back, keep your dress on, cook more nice dinners, stay away from Telegraph Avenue, and still, you wouldn't know the half of it, not in a million years.

-Susan Griffin
from No More Masks! An Anthology of Twentieth Century American Women Poets.

Channeling Spring

2010-03-12T04:51:00.002-05:00

Warmest day in March 2010

Saudade's Inspiration (For mature audiences)

2010-01-27T21:18:00.001-05:00

Self Portraits: Modern Woman, Indigenous Spirit

2010-01-17T03:57:00.001-05:00

Speaking on photography and vulnerability

2010-01-06T22:06:00.001-05:00

1st Self-Portrait 2010: Thoughts become things

2010-01-05T04:01:00.001-05:00

AVATAR: the biopic of India's life

2009-12-31T00:54:00.009-05:00

because this film ROCKS the house by celebrating:

The divine feminine principle herself, THE GODIS
Matriarchy
The GREAT COSMIC MOTHER and all her elements, air-fire-water-earth
ANCESTORS and connecting with our ancestors
RITUALS, ceremonies, prayer, spirits
the ingenuity of the ANIMAL KINGDOM
respect of plant life
the importance to PROTECT BALANCE: note to patriarchy
PROTECTING our crowns! Our crowns are precious and hold secrets and ancient mysteries, just like melanin. There is NO part of Black woman more important than her hair. HA!

Finally--they get it right!

photo1:
Photo by India
Painting by Saudade

I create for my own healing

2009-12-26T00:23:00.000-05:00

If I am healing, so are you!

Artist Statement: First Draft

2009-11-18T10:46:00.004-05:00

I have always been interested in personal stories and story-telling. I have also been interested in the layers within those stories or the "story" within the story, especially the mysteries and the power that images play in story-telling. Along with that, I unquestionably celebrate the feminine body, womanhood, food, movement, visual beauty, nature, and transitions. In my personal photographic body of work, I am committed to healing myself by looking within and acting creatively on what really drives me during moments of pain and joy. I am a witness and a catalyst in the service of my unique experiences and expressions that visually bring about the story, fantasy, moment, or sensation that speaks most powerfully within an image through my personal self-portraits.

My body of work has a focus on female nudes and self-expression that explores the themes of spirit, symbolism, emotion, identity, and transition. The process combines intuition, creativity, patience, and technical skills to create powerful images that can reveal an inner world mystery. I enjoy creating fun and safe spaces to explore fears or alter egos, or to simply capture a beautiful image to cherish and fiercely share with the world or privately keep to yourself. My work pushes the boundaries and widens the margins of what a photo can be, and provides a unique and meaningful experience of what Art really is.

In a nutshell, I aim to turn an "ordinary" photo into something magical. I will collaborate with you in a revelation process to create images that deeply unfold who you are and celebrate who you are becoming.

My name is India Ame'y and I am a Photographer, Artist model, Herbal Apothecary, Writer, Nature Dweller, SunWorshiper, Intuitionist, Shiny Dark Godis, Modern Minimalist, and Healer. I reside in Southwest Atlanta with my partner and lover, Saudade.

A SkyDiving Adventure

2009-11-13T03:27:00.010-05:00

skydiving is such a wonderful metaphor for life and living and overcoming (perceived) fears!!!

that's me and my love!!!!!!! freefalling and parachuting 15000 FT!!! HECK YEAH. it's a beautiful dayyyyy

we are a little bit behind on india-saudade.com because we've been jumping out of planes and whatnot. soooooOOOn!

2009-11-04T07:30:00.002-05:00

India-Saudade.com will be up and running in 10 days. We got deadlines but we are going make this happen with every beat of our hearts. xoxo

india-saudade.com, coming in THREE WEEKS

2009-10-19T00:46:00.001-05:00

I am co-creating a partnership that is fluid, expanding, whose conscious intentions include individual/collective growth and service to others. ase'

India-Saudade.com (Artistic Alchemy, coming soon)

2009-10-09T09:56:00.003-05:00

My blogging days are coming to an end, BUT please come check me out HERE! The website will be up in the next 4 weeks. LOVELOVELOVE and LEAVE MY MOON ALONE. I pray for her wellness as I pray for our wellness. Please forgive us, Ms. Moon.

2009-10-01T10:05:00.001-05:00

A video sharing my gratitude in that moment

Photo by Saudade

2009-09-11T18:57:00.000-05:00

Saudade and India as next Gilbert and George

2009-09-10T17:52:00.001-05:00

Textures, Textures, Highlights, and Improvistion

2009-08-15T16:57:00.002-05:00

This emotion, this pure feelings from the soul, its pure music in its nature form. Its so uncontaminated clear music....Like they live in the deepest lands of Africa. The more I learn to 'listen,' the more passionate I feel about simple tones, sounds, and textures in music.

Axataria: Freedom of worry

2009-07-22T22:56:00.005-05:00

I am loving, that is my built-in nature, the 'SATCHITANANDA SWAROOPA', that I am and that I have forgotten due to the ignorance of my Spiritual nature. While discovering my connection with the spirit, my nature, I discover I am already that fullness and happiness, that translates as love when relating. Only as a loving person can I receive or give true love [ not the worldly love]!
Therefore, the love I am seeking is not outside, true happiness is also within me,temporary pleasure and pain are outside.
If i know this and live it, there is no suffering, only oneness and love.

India's Flicker photostream

My Flicker Page

2009-07-22T05:03:00.004-05:00

Link to My Flicker Page

An aside:This morning during my prayers and meditation, I remembered how important it is to be thankful for everything, and i mean EVERYTHING you have and everyone who participates in your life.

Check back for updates.

With love,

India

2009-07-03T10:56:00.003-05:00

Water. Clean and serene and hydrating.
The weather. A bright, warm day.
Siestas!
Book: Teaching on Love by Thich N. Hahn
Cotton undies
Movie night
Coloring Books
Dark, smooth skin
Photography
Working out
communing with ancestors, learning
bridges and doorways
healing and creating
smooth skin
serendipity
Our bodies are designed to clean themselves continuously...That is how we stay healthy." Linda Hansen
coconuts
nursing mommies and midwifery
saving for traveling
feeling "alive"
moving into new spaces
crystals
moments where the sight, sound, and touch of my beloved arrests me.
mason jars
kissing and lovemaking
porches and patios
sun-bathing
discovering naan bread, yum
being open, abundant, limitless, allowing....

voice tones

2009-06-18T04:33:00.003-05:00

the purpose of earth is to heal and the purpose of heaven on earth is to CREATE

2009-06-15T10:43:00.008-05:00

Love in the pathos of passionate pursuit -- the song the scene the dramatic presentiment -- the longing flipped to belonging -- the soul finding itself doing cartwheels through the air -- realizing balance and proportion are the pillars of form that give shape and coherence to the chaotic uncertainty of that sudden rush of inspiration -- like a match struck -- released -- and setting an entire forest on fire -- leaving death in its wake -- as new life blossoms from the old -- and a poem needs to be born and wrote from the deepest heart that understands the Gift of Grace inspired to re-appear as Empathy cools the flames and warms the cold caves of creative assault -- dark powers of inspired hate -- the force that requires the Will of Humane Loving Desire to put out the fire while we keep on lighting up the world with our songs, with our thoughts, in essence, our love ---india

artist model: india

When circles meet: One

2009-05-28T00:16:00.008-05:00

I am stillness

2009-04-20T20:22:00.005-05:00

Figure

2009-04-15T03:25:00.001-05:00

Lucille Clifton

2009-04-05T00:25:00.002-05:00

Won't you celebrate with me

won't you celebrate with me

what i have shaped into

a kind of life? i had no model.

born in babylon

both nonwhite and woman

what did i see to be except myself?

i made it up

here on this bridge between

starshine and clay,

my one hand holding tight

my other hand; come celebrate

with me that everyday

something has tried to kill me

and has failed.

Sometime in March 09

2009-03-29T23:20:00.005-05:00

Spring, deux

2009-03-23T02:33:00.003-05:00

Spring

2009-03-19T23:36:00.000-05:00

Fun times in nature

2009-03-03T18:05:00.007-05:00

My whole goal is to keep my spirit intact. If that doesn't happen, none of this is worth it.Being surrounded by nature facilitates my own inner healing. What I am learning and have learned becomes my gift to others. Nature helps me maintain this goal.

Snow in Atlanta in MARCH!

2009-03-02T02:20:00.004-05:00

Original

2009-02-25T01:05:00.003-05:00

*Spot my error? I'm sure you do.
I forgot to save the original photo
and found that I'd made a big
boo-boo. Just a mental note to pay
attention to details before you
replace an old file, in this case, a
sweet photograph, with a new one.

Art Modeling: Thoughts become things 1.2

2009-02-22T00:49:00.007-05:00

^Shifting from 'How much I can get' to 'How much much can I give'

^Expressing my highest, shiniest, most creative self

^Knowing that I am the evidence of God

Love,

India

Daily Bread

2009-02-09T14:58:00.006-05:00

I'm in awe with my life and today is the best day of my life!
I am Living in the light.
I have the power to change.
I always choose a smile.
I create daily rituals.
I live in a constant state of gratitude.
I walk from a space of love.
Dancing in the shine,
India

R.I.S.E
photographer unknown

Self portrait: Experiencing

2009-02-03T16:07:00.001-05:00

Is life this marvelous, or am I simply continuing the illusion? No matter what you perceive, always find the bliss. Always acknowledge the radiant splendor of Spiritual-Creational energy. I had powerful night with myself, so guided by Spirit!

I love.

"Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart.
Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books
written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They
cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a
question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the
question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find
yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day."

Letters to a Young Poet
Rainer Maria Rilke

Thoughts become things

2009-01-20T01:05:00.003-05:00

*remembering to look people deeply and lovingly longer than is socially acceptable

*getting all A's this semester

*non-profit employment

*dissolving the projected, ego entity that I created for protection against transparency

*Move from self-absorption to appreciation..thanks A

*move my ass: dance, bike, run, walk, climb

*touch

*soul-connect; cosmic connections, love, amazingly sexy beautiful lovemaking, sharing

*healing days

Goals for Jan-March 2009

2009-01-04T17:29:00.001-05:00

*Update my cycling log

*Consistency with nutrition

*Keep grades up

*Create projects at work to help with
grad. school objectives

*Study 3 hrs a week for GRE, post notecards of card throughout house

*Complete Grad packet

*Photograph more

*Get into bed earlier
*Write more, creatively and academically
*Love and gratitude
*Ask the universe to supply
*Healing days 2 a month
*Practice tarot cards 1 aweek
*Minimize distractions
*Create art
*Continue to let go
*Keep room organize
*Dress artistically Sundays
*Continue to stay involved and create a niche for myself
*Teach classes
*Heal (free)
*Give away food
*Attract

Self portrait: Red light and Yr-End Review

2008-12-29T15:19:00.007-05:00

2008
I learned about gratitude and being grateful---- always. I learned to be more open to people and (our) pain. I learned to be less selfish and more atruistic and other interested. I learned that community is important and art is life. I learned to be more honest, with myself first. I learned to let fear fall away. I learned how much I love learning and teaching as a health educator. I learned how to bike to work in 15 minutes. I learned to stop saying my age. I learned to breathe deeper. I learned to enjoy FOOD, all types of food and chocolate and red wine. I learned my spirit craves green leafy veggies. I learned how cute lacy panties look on my fleshy, full bottom. I learned to greet my days with love in my heart and how love melts the coldest of hearts. I learned to smile with my body. I learned to nurture my spirit self. I learned how much I enjoy city walks. I learned to moisturize my hair with jojoba oil and various essential oils. I learned how important my connections to women are. I learned how much I like cats. I learned about awareness and to be aware of my ego and judgments. And last but not least, I learned to laugh it out, play and laugh like a 10 year old, and find joy in the simplest of.....

Cheers

The simple things: Edited by India

2008-12-28T20:14:00.001-05:00

Photographer Unknown

Pranayama: " Sanskrit word meaning "lengthening of the prana or breath". Wikipedia

Barack Obama

2008-12-22T18:27:00.004-05:00

Barack Obama 18 years old

I really love this man.
...As a women-centered queer woman, Barack could get it.
that is all

~Bless

Gratitude during Holy-days

2008-12-17T00:37:00.012-05:00

Art, Music, Photography, Nude Sketches, Film, Vision Boards, Farming, Juicing, Love-making, Books, Aromatherapy, Sistah-circles, Veggies, Biology and Anatomy, Health and Fitness, Architect and noticing it, Erotica, Treehouses, Walking, Cycling, Queer-Womanist, Outdoors, Live shows, Random Fashion, Smiling so hard my cheeks hurt, Gaia, bicycles, thrift stores, abstraction, moon-sun, 60-degree weather in December, indy group R.I.S.E., Grace Jones at 60-her new cd-her nude spread in Dazed Magazine, discovery art mags, Admitting mistakes, more and more fun, simple life, shifting, growing older, ashy feet/smooth skin, orgasms, blogs, journaling, meeting new people, color, and last by not least, celebrating my God-is self.

Seek Bliss,

India

Photographer unknown but what a beauty~

"i believe holy is what you do when there is
nothing between your actions
and the truth"
-stacyann chin, cross-fire (2002)

PhotoShare: Khalid and I "working"

2008-12-11T20:06:00.003-05:00

Reflections of Self

2008-12-10T16:44:00.007-05:00

Every person, place or thing shows us our relationship with ourself. There's nobody out there but you. And there's no place to go but here!

Photo: Zanele Muholi "Being"

Stay Blissful,

Love- India

Gratitude

2008-12-08T12:08:00.003-05:00

1. Creating
2. Money to pay for school
3. Dynamic Dish (see picture)
4. Juicing
5. A comfortable, quiet living space
6. Warm biking clothes
7. Smooth skin
8. Warrior Poet
9. *my special place (can't wait for tomorrow)
10. Refocusing
11. Awareness
12. A healthy painless 3-day period
13. Late mornings
14. Netflix
15. Tight Embraces
16. Kale leaves
17. Love
18. Taking my time, no rush
19. Mending
20. Surrender
"A woman in harmony with her spirit is lke a river flowing. She goes at will without pretense and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself, and only herself. " Maya Angelou

2008-12-07T01:22:00.011-05:00

A dear customer-friend of mine and I were talking about mothering, earth-consciousness, and being connected to the divine mother. I was impressed when she conveyed that she talks to her 16 year old daughter about the feminine presence in the divine, body awareness, and body image. In our conversation, I told her that she should also consider talking to her daughter about love-making now. She immediately cringed and I let it go after realizing how embarrassed she became at the thought.

There are a lot of women like my customer friend who are wonderfully liberated in many ways but can't talk about love-making. As women of African descent, we were taught to never talk about our sexuality or even think about what turns us off. I understand how the history of African Americans informed our sexual repression. I do. I do. And I don't take that lightly. However, my frustration is activated when "liberated" sistahs, sistahs who challenge the status quo, sistahs who appear to have stepped outside of the box, sistahs who have redefined relationships with women but can't articulate a conversation around love-making and/or have challenges when it comes to making love to themselves or other women. Surprisingly, many of the aforementioned women are self-identified lesbians, creating huge misconceptions that all lesbians are great lovers to other women.

I want to be clear: I don't claim to be an expert in lovemaking, particularly because I am still beautifully unfolding and learning. But I will claim what I've learned so far. I learned that energy is absolutely everything, literally and they're some energies that should not connect intimately. It's a chemistry that becomes chemically imbalanced when forced to unite in such an intense, passionate way. Even if the physical outcome of such exchange appears satisfying to the body, the spirit knows truth and eventually an internal shift occurs, creating an internal imbalance that causes everything to feel "off." Oftentimes people try to recreate what they thought they felt in the beginning of the relationship, but spirit knows and responds accordingly.

I haven't had sex in a few months, but I've been intimate. My most recent relationship was short, amazingly beautiful, powerful, sexless, and yet my best relationship to date. That relationship birthed awareness, stillness, and agape, showing me what an authentic, honest connection and attraction feel like. I am moving from a personal, individual self into a transpersonal understanding of the deep and subtle interconnectedness of the universe and people. In this experience, I am realizing that the "I", the "me" is not more important the "we" or "us," which allows me to intuit more clearly. I'm grateful and wonderfully delighted, for I know that my new lover(s) is/are near. I cleared out and charged up so much so that I feel her. As a result, I've started creating art again, a testament to my awakening consciousness and awareness. Sexual power is the energetic force that brings life onto this Earth. Whereas no child is conceived during lesbian love-making or intimacy, the creative life energy can conceive a new attitude, a new perception, or a new way of Being.

Photo: Sketched and digitally painted Oshun and Freya

Seek Bliss,

India A.

2008-12-03T03:41:00.000-05:00

2008-12-03T01:13:00.001-05:00

Poster: Love (Click to Enlarge)

2008-11-29T21:39:00.004-05:00

We cannot settle for the pretenses of connection, or for the parodies of self-love. The erotic cannot be felt secondhand." Audre Lorde

Book of Gratitude, in the works

2008-11-28T19:47:00.000-05:00

PHOTO SHARE: bookSHelf in the kitchen

2008-11-21T21:12:00.004-05:00

LOVE THIS IDEA! As much time as I spend here, I might as well multi-task. I like the idea of redefining spaces. A dear friend of mine decided to have a room for artwork/creative exploration instead of a traditional living room. Lovely!

Hug yourself, nurture your lovliness,

Kilimanjaro

Sometime in November....

2008-11-13T20:25:00.000-05:00

Nancy B. (Artist)

Gratitude

2008-11-09T15:41:00.003-05:00

Love is all around
Warm weather in November
color spectrum of Leaves
sweat and tears
my road bicycle
petticoats and flat shoes
homemade oatmeal cookies
puffy eyes and smooth skin
green juice
my housemate kitty
daily gratitude lists
Words of Fire

I VOTED

2008-11-04T19:05:00.006-05:00

I only stood in line 20 minutes, gave away some delicious food, made calls for Obama in Indiana and Missouri, and enjoyed 70degree sunshine on my brown skin with friends. Gratitude, Love, Bliss!

Thoughts from words

2008-10-29T16:31:00.005-05:00

Licorice/Ylang-ylang-Lavender baths
Earth, the movie
slow: slow digestion, slow sex
Beauty
idiosynchronies
A pilgrimage of discovery, mystery, serendipity, synchronicity, spontaneity. Joy
intentional
media "fast" and perhaps media detox
limes/lemons
story-telling
Hibiscus
Sage Leaves
art of living
living art
gratitude
inspiration
expiration
crossroads
"we"
connections
taking time
warm socks and Comfy Boots
dark chocolate
Fitted Jeans
Black Womyn: Dec 4th
quiet house
precious friendship
womb cleansing
locs
Green
Gray
Agape
Eyes
Fall
Strong legs
Sweet Potatoes and Root Veggies
Body wraps
skin
green juice
enjoyment
walking
silliness
women.....oh, women
men
children
discovery
contentment
the space between
music: weapon
Book:Advanced chakra healing (cancer)
Book:Words of Fire
Book: Loving Kindness
falling
holy-days and holidays
masturbation and sweet celibacy
mixing body scrubs/oils/lotions and potions
stress-free
cycle chic
minimalist (work in progress)
empathy
compassion
passionate
Quote: "To be sensual, I think, is to respect and rejoice in the force of life, of life itself, and to be present in all that one does, from the effort of loving to the breaking of bread.

James Baldwin

Photo: Copenhagen Cycle Chic (Love this damn site)...oh, where's my bike :)

GRATITUDE

2008-10-22T17:23:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's gratitude list:
a cat that kills nasty,icky BIG bugs
ability to afford organic produce at 20% discount
today's sunshine
making time to do absolutely nothing
a quiet comfortable place to live
a sweetheart housemate
unexpected encounters
love
jasmine leaves
"love is all around just look" --cree summer, my boo
the kids...i love the kids
a body that's pretty healthy even when it's tired
jeju
the chocolate shop
sick time
some "pocket change"
great hugs....kisses on the cheek
releasing my ego, admitting that i was wrong about an employee, and apologizing to him
mending broken ties; making peace
recognizing the need to pause, take deeper breaths...not racing to a red light
being alive and healthy to witness the spirit of Autumn
learning to say no, no, no
discovering evamor water
.....there are soo many things to be grateful for....bubbling over with gratitude.

Moving out of Atlanta for school: It's Official!

2008-08-21T08:15:00.009-05:00

~~NOVEMBER 1st~~ December 28.

*Everything is set to go.

I can't believe I finally did it.

I am so grateful for ALLL my experiences in Atlanta, I am finally moving forward.

This blog may be on hold 'til further notice.

SO much gratitude to the creator and ancestors for guidance, love, and holding me tightly and my ex-fiance' (spirit brother) for simply being there and believing in ME. I am LOVE! I AM LOVE! I AM HEALTHY! I CAN DO IT!!! HELL YEAH, IMMA BE A MEDICAL DOCTOR YALL, combining alternative and conventional medicine! GRATITUDE, AH!

hugging myself,
India, this one is for you mum. I know that I'm never alone. Thank you.

SUNSHINE, plus a hot track

2008-08-20T21:09:00.009-05:00

I feel like I'm am sunshine :)

"The thing that I'm into is the philosophy of the music. I love the surprise of things, the accidents...just the sound of a word, to try to express them in the best way, so that the emotion is totally revealed." - Beth Gibbons (Portishead)

sounds like love-making to me, Beth

I LoooOOOOve what Mos Def did to this ol' Isley Brothers' song.

Surrender

2008-08-17T03:35:00.006-05:00

I surrender

"I will fight no more forever"

my inner self concurs...

I surrender

no reason to struggle with myself

I surrender

:::

all is

:::

I am

:::

that is all

i know

so......

In my wanting, I need to learn to not want
yet I still 'want' to surrender
and in wanting it so badly I know not
that I've surrendered already

I am desperately attempting to cling onto more of what I already am
I have all that I need, so I need to recognize
that needs are always met
yet I forget
and then comes regret
regret for not having "real- eye"-zed sooner
for not being up to my own ridiculous standard
for what 'standard' can be set on
~a fluid of change
I cannot be set
there in my impermanence
wanting some permanence
the conundrum has my head reeling
and floods me with such feeling
~all is love

As always, i'm so grateful

Untittled mutterings

2008-08-09T22:44:00.005-05:00

I love my life.

Sure it's not perfect. I have trust issues. Major ones. I don't easily allow people into my center. After my last relationship with a woman who was periodically dishonest throughout the entire on again/off again, unsupportive relationship and my total disconnection from my 5 known family members in the US, I threw my hands in the surrendering air.

And still I love my life. I do, I do. It's like no one can take away my sweetness...forever. I lose it for a minute, then it comes back, and it penetrates anything that I touch. Powerful!

Every day I am outside biking the city, I remind myself to be conscious. I even send out energy to cars, and other bikers, skaters, and children around me, that they, too, love their lives enough to be conscious of it, and those around. I’m not ready to let it go; to throw in the towel, or to walk away from the sun shining through my window, the smiles, the outdoors, the arts, my bead collection, photography, the music, the love. NO! I’m not there yet. There are so many things I have to do. I mean, I've been waiting for August 11, 2008 for a month now. Two days left until my big day!!!

I have things to do, like climb the pyramids of Egypt, skinny-dip in South France after reading Anais Nin by the shore, sky-dive, grow a successful full garden, take an African Safari trip, learn to compost, be in somebody's film, ride a camel, make love on a forest floor, live in London, make love on a train, see the sun rise over Rohtas Fort, take a year off from working and backpack internationally, become a Natropath Doctor (ND), save many lives and cure cancer, publish a book, learn to prolong my orgasms, learn French and Spanish, be in a bellydance show, send a message in a bottle, fall deeply in love -- helplessly and unconditionally, have Picasso moment of creation, drive across America coast to coast and make love in every state, find a job that I really love, go to Walden Pond and read Thoreau while drifting in a canoe, shower in a waterfall.....just to name a few. The wine is still in the cellar...sort of speak--if I drank and had a cellar.

I’m breathing. I’m breathing in every single breath available, and I’m saying to life and death, “I know that you are one. For now, I sit on the flipside of death, where life is illuminated and beautiful as a curvy highly-melaninated woman in the morning sun. Like John Mayer says in his song Gravity, “just keep me where the light is." I agree.

India's - Affirmations

2008-08-08T00:34:00.026-05:00

I have affirmations listed in every room of my place for myself to continuously affirm and for others to see the truth as I know it to be so! In some way, my blog has been my virtual room for me to share my 'stuff.' Any boi, did/do/will i forever have some 'stuff' to share. So here GOES my deliciousness!!! 15 affirmations:

1. I AM spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally, psychically, financially, and sexually healthy!!

2. I love myself and I AM lovable. YUM! I am appreciative of myself....all of me. I am a divine, magnificent expression. I am thankful for all my goodness.

3. Every thought I think, even the ones that I don't say aloud, is creative. SUCH a magic woman I AM!

4. I deserve the BEST and I accept the best. Thank you universe for the love honey.

5. MY income is constantly increasing. MY money is working for me. I am financially secure and debt-free.

6. I absolutely trust the process of LIFE.

7. I open new doors to life anytime I am ready.

8. I am at peace.

9. ALL is absolutely wonderful and well in my world!

10.I love to go beyond other people's fears and limitations. I say YES I CAN to it all. Hell YES!

11. I AM ONE FOXY, juicy, fierce, succulent, graceful but sassy, athletic, sensual, fabulous, loving, kind, generous, assertive, confident, healthy, creative, healing, financially-prosperous, African/Women/Earth-centered, globe-trotting woman. This i KNOW!!! An aside: I love the name/word GRACE. i do, i do.

12. I am unfolding in fulfilling ways. Only good can come to me. I now express health, happiness, prosperity, and peace of mind!

13. I rest very well during the night. My mind is at rest, my body is at rest, my spirit is peace. My head is clear as the Colorado sky.

14. I am doing what I LOVE and making people healthier every single day of my life I understand my purpose in life and I am wholistically and financially successful at what I do.

15. I am so grateful every single moment of my life. Only good lies before me. It doesn't really matter to me what happens, cause I know it's going to be Gooooood! AH!!!!!

Bike-bus or bus-bike

2008-08-05T02:06:00.013-05:00

I'm a big proponent of public transit, and I like to bike as much as possible, or what I call bike-bus or bus-bike, depending on the order that it's done. Marta has a little rack on the front of its buses that allows me to load my bike safely. Now learning to use the rack can be quite painful and embarrassing, but once you get the hang of it, it's simply love. Since being 'truly' car-free has been a rather seamless experience, I don't plan on owning an automobile larger than a Vespa or People in near or distant future. Whenever I need to travel a great distance, I'll just rent a ZipCar by the hour or an Enterprise car for the day. It works! While riding, I am granted opportunities to read great books (which I adore), write, doodle, dream, move about in the elements (sunshine or rain), meet fantastic Atlantans, or just do nothing. Bus-biking or bike-busing has fostered, and really help develop, my independent, self-reliant spirit. After a long day of biking, I feel healthier and fitter than ever~. ANNND, I don't have the foggiest idea what gas prices are these days :D!

*********CLICK pictures to enlarge**********

Ok, so gear is important! I typically bike in my regular ol' clothes, no spandex for me, except under skirts occasionally. I like to wear comfortable shoes; my staple eco-friendly shoes are made by Simple . If I wear a helmet (yeah, I don't always wear one....i tell you why later), I tie my hair up with fabric just so I don't look like I've been in a fight when the helmet comes off. It doesn't prevent you from looking like a total dork in the helmet unfortunately.

My REI fanny/backpack: I have learned that I have to spend $$ on better equipment because it saves time, money, and lots of frustration. I even have room on the side for extra bottled water. I like to carry a couple bottles of water, a bike light, a few snacks, some kleenix, and a good great book. Currently reading Octavia Butler's "Parable of Sower."

*
Bike legs after riding approx 6 miles: WHA? You knew I'd find a way to throw this one in :)

The worst incident I've experienced since being a bike commuter was when an officer "pulled" me over with sirens and all and asked for my driver's license. Apparently, I ran a stop sign*. Follow the rules, or get a ticket and have your bike impounded. I don't know if it was a situation of 'profiling' or simply disdain for a biker(yeah that's real), but whatever the case it was stoopid. You may find that a small bit of people dislike you and your bike, but whatever. It's because you are doing something that they are simply afraid of doing for a myriad of silly reasons. Anyway, don't give up no matter what and if you have a day/week that you forego biking for a 'silly' reason, forgive yourself, and get your booty back in gear asap. It's worth it. LOVE

Spiritual Beings, Human Experience

2008-07-31T02:21:00.006-05:00

July has been a pretty rough month for me. So much has transpired and although I pat myself on the back for hanging in there like a resilient champ, I still have to admit that I don't quite feel like myself. Sometimes it feels like I'm Casper, trapped between two worlds. Since I moved into this cute 1920s bungelow in Brownwood, I've been having these weird sensations, like someone or something is trying to communicate with me. I don't get scared, I stay open but I do have a concern that I'm not tuned in enough to understand the message or that I'm pretending to be so busy going, going, going, I miss it.

So today I had a quiet day. I stayed around my home, cleaned up really good and decided to fast with lemon juice (fresh-squeeze), grapefruit juice, wheatgrass, spirilina, and kombucha. I also performed an enema using distilled water and probiotics and inserted wheatgrass, which is when the healing comes in for me. I put on some classical and allowed my thoughts to come through like August and leave like July.

To say that I feel soOOOo good would do my emotions an injustice.

But I do.

I think it was Oprah who said that life without a spiritual component is meaningless.

She's right!

That disconnection I was feeling has everything to do with my neglecting my spirit.

We are all eternal spiritual beings in human bodies. We manifest human bodies to experience manifestation, this world, this planet that we live on. Not the other way around. Our human bodies are sorta an interface entity between the spiritual being that lives outside of time and space and the world as we see it day to day.

I believe we create human bodies to experience time and space, to experience linear time. I believe we choose our parents and experiences. If you think about it, no two persons have the exact same experiences. I think we choose our pain, as well as love. I believe we show up late to jobs we shouldn't be working in the first place. Walking around in a human body is an amazing thing, and witness our actions day to day is the lesson.

Having the senses of smell, touch, taste, visual sight and perceiving sound is a beautiful experience. Having the opportunity to love ourselves and share love every time our heart beats is ....the experience.

Photo 1: Self portrait, 2008
Photo 2: Self portrait, during late night backyard ritual, Holding partially nude pic of an unknown relative found in mums closet, 2008

Video Narrative

2008-07-30T02:51:00.002-05:00

Bikes and Pears: Meet Major

2008-07-29T18:15:00.001-05:00

My FIRST VIDEO ever

2008-07-24T00:38:00.003-05:00

Anyone who knows me would NOT believe that I recorded and uploaded a video all by myself. I don't even own a cell phone so HA! BUT i did it. I am going to do great things with this channel. I will do 2 minute weekly blurbs about dieting, exercising, colonics and enemas, detoxification, breast and vagina health, stress reduction and more. I am qualified by being involved in the holistic sector for over 12 years. I am a certified colon hydrotherapist, a raw foods preparer, a holistic life style change consultant, a nude life model, and a full-time assistant manager at a health food store. Anyway, I still have a lot to learn and yet so much to share. So stay tuned :). This video is very blah, blah but I was just testing my cam :-) PS. I am laughing so hard right now because I never thought to turn to camera around :P.

Terrence Trent D'arby and Kilimanjaro

2008-07-22T22:30:00.013-05:00

I saw Sananda Maitreya, formally known as Terrence Trent D'arby tonight. IT was sensationsal!!! I am overjoyed.

Here I am! Leaving to see the show.

LIFE as a NUDE MODEL

2008-07-18T00:35:00.027-05:00

I just love being nude and I'm not particularly bothered about who sees me nude. One of the things that I always fancied doing was nude self-portraits and onward to nude modeling. It is difficult to say why I love doing it, but I think that it was a combination of three factors. They were my love of being nude, my exhibitionist tendencies, but probably the most intriguing factor was the thought that I would be pushing my nude experiences in to a new area, namely, being nude when surrounded by total strangers who were not nudists. HA!

Well, today was my third gig in an academic university in 6 weeks. As I disrobed, the usual nervous shakes invaded my body. Suddenly I remembered every insecurity I'd ever had. A few minutes after I stepped onto the platform underneath the spotlights, my shakes subsided and I felt relaxed, better. I stood on the wooden platform and my mind started acting up by visualizing an auction block, causing me to fold into myself for comfort. Here I was 5'7", 140, dark, athletic, soft, nappy, and freed up!!! There were 16 students in the class, 12 male and 4 female, including one black woman with locs, who I called I mum in my head. The whole class was concentrated on me with great intensity, making the sweetest comments ever. From my dark skin-tone to wholly hair, I began to feel proud again! It was quite amusing trying to work out which bit they were painting at any particular time. When I noticed the old German staring at my pussy with a ruler angled in my direction, I lost my focus a bit, hoping he wasn't measuring my clitoris?! The sounds of Beethoven playing in the background helped bring my attention back to the platform.

I found my focal point on a overhead light switch and selected my pose. "Can you part you legs a little more?" said one of the females. I did but barely; I didn't think I was having a pap smear today. I stared again but I could still see out of my peripheral. The artists were getting their brushes and pencils ready. Time to work.

This time, the students used various mediums including paint, charcoal, water colour and oil. Eventually the hour passed and it was time for a tea/scone/bagel break and to inspect SOME of the half finished masterpieces (i said, some). One of the old men kindly volunteered to get me a cup of tea to save me the bother of getting dressed. Needless to say all the drawings were quite different. The main reason being that each one was drawn from a slightly different angle, and also, at this stage, they were only half complete. There were a couple in particular that I thought were stunning but there was also that one that looked like Kermit, the frog! 30 minutes rolled by, then followed an impromptu conversation on various styles of drawing. As the discussion continued, none of the class seemed the slightest bit bothered that I was naked while they stood their clothed. I was just another model.

After a 15 minute break, it was back to work! The heat from the lights, coupled with the coconut oil all over my body, was making my pussy sweat. For some reason, the second hour passed faster than the first. I felt a few knots tighten up in my back and neck towards the end of the second hour. Just when I thought I was ready to pack up and leave, one of the old guys asked if I mind being photographed. I said "Sure, why not?" realizing later that my picture could find it's way on "BigtitsandRoundAsses".*shutters at the thought*

So not only did he take out out his inexpensive digital camera, the rest of the class followed. *snap, snap, snap...flashes everywhere! I felt my blood pressure surge from the omnidirectional glares. Sensing my discomfort, the teacher asked the students to put away their cameras and class resumed.

Into my third hour, I felt something shift in me, within the artists, and the classroom. The lateral pain in my back and neck started to disconnect from my brain. What pain???? I felt a part of everything there and then a part of nothing at all. There was something invisible and magikal connecting me and the light switch. All my insecurities fell away like old, sagging skin caught on fire. I felt an overwhelming appreciation for my quiet, meditative time. My thoughts relaxed into nothingness for a few minutes. All I remember were tears welding up in my eyes causing me to relax my gaze to stop them from falling. I felt queenly, on some ancestral-type, dark Goddess vibration.

I asked for a break, went to the bathroom, and cried. I mean, CRIED!

When I entered the room again, all the students clapped. Not the AA meeting kind of clap, but deeper.

I loss something and gained something else. It only lasted a few minutes but what I acquired was real.

I dare to try to put into words what I received, I simply knew that I felt light as air.

I have an appointment next week and another big one Aug 11. Now instead of calling them appts, I call them prayer/worship. As I biked to the train station, I felt like a kid leaving church on Easter Sunday, full of innocence and wonderment.

It's kinda like when Ntozake said, "I found God in myself and I love her."

But then again, it's not.

Sexuality, spirituality, creativity

2008-07-14T23:44:00.005-05:00

One of three books that I am reading now is- What We Ache For: Creativity and the Unfolding of Your Soul.. by Oriah Mountain Dreamer - does a little bit of all of these creative things. It is designed to encourage the reader to consider the melding of three different aspects of life - sexuality, spirituality and creativity - in order to live more completely. At it's core, that's about living all of life more creatively. However, it focuses specifically on the act of writing when making a lot of its points and uses writing prompts at the end of chapter to emphasize this. And yet, these writing prompts can be easily adapted to other types of art so that it applies to the artistic life in general. When it boils down to it, though, the real reason that I love this book is because I agree with its core foundation. It is based on the idea that we can not be completely happy unless we are able to fully realize ourselves as sexual, spiritual and creative people. Those are rigid terms but they imply looser concepts. They say that we need to be able to experience our own senses in the world, to feel that we are interconnected with something bigger than ourselves and to use our perceptions to create something outside of ourselves. When these three aspects of life are amalgamated and balanced, we can be content. I believe in that idea and therefore this is an easy book to love.

I wish this was my bookshelf. Soon, soon.
Photographer: Unknown :(

A Literate Passion

2008-06-29T16:21:00.004-05:00

"Walking along the Seine, I lost another fear. That I would suffer
from the absence of those I loved in the past. But when a life is lived for its meaning....the residue of the past is poetry, not death or loss." ..."The dead were not absent, they were a part of the present life."

Anais Nin
"A Literate Passion: Letters from 1932-1952"

I am overwhelmed by the supple beauty of her words. I sat at my local tea shop a few days ago and poured myself into it, didn't even drink my rooibus just read and immediately I was transported to Paris.Not only does it transport me, but also it possesses something that inspires my own writing. It's comforting to me....allows me to accept my mother's death, slowly.

Sex, as MAGICKal MAGIC

2008-06-24T00:21:00.018-05:00

it's no secret...

to anyone who knows me.

...i want to have sex that inspires me. sex that makes me feel more like i'm in the midst of creating art than fingering or fucking someone. shit so good that it transcends just a physical experience. it becomes spiritual. religious. magical. a space to conjure deepest desires. awaken things we never knew we loved. or capture things we've always lusted for but haven't quite tasted.

i want sex that redefines what sex could be. something that is loving, nasty, freaky, charged. hot, sexy, soft, sensual, noisy, seductive, ass-bouncing, breast-jiggling, hard. something that leaves me feeling spent afterwards like i just fought a heavyweight & gave it all i got. only this is no fight, it's going at it with someone who wants you to cum harder than you've ever come before. sex that is generous, accepting, where giving each other pleasure is paramount. where giving each other room to explore & just be where we are at & be accepted...& grow...& learn...is an integral part of the experience.

i want to try things i never have. be open to ways of love making/fucking that i've never even imagined before. whether it is something kinky or deeply intimate. i want to have sex in ways i've never had sex before but always dreamed of. with someone who is seeking the same.

but also, i'd really love to have that person be someone i could develop a really wonderful friendship with at the core of everything. but the irony is that many people don't know how to be friends. there's trust issues, past drama, insecurity, selfishness, dishonesty, foolishness, 'the ex who sits by the door' and other 'stuff' you have to sift through in order to get to a person's center. so many layers you have to peel back in order to see who that person really is and sometimes it takes years for the lens to focus correctly. i had to be honest (and continue to be honest) with myself and work on changing who i was/am so that i would/will attract that light essence that essentially resides within me. a homogeneous spirit. at this point in my life it's absolutely necessary for anyone I have sex/make love with to develop a really loving, earth-spirit-centered, mental-emotional-physical, natural, nurturing, connection . & then have the hot sex be an extension of that connection, not the sole connection in itself...i refuse anything less....i've always known in the deepest parts that this kind of sweetness would be a reality for me. it's just a matter of time. as always, i'm patient and healthy.

but ahhh...ohhhh, i'm turning myself on at the thought of sex in the context of a wholistic relationship...mmMMmm. in the meantime, i'll just keep nurturing my mind, body, and spirit while "staying healthy with every beat of my heart." ---India

o.wood (read sex and magick-making stuff-click here)

*To all my readers: Thank you for reading, always always. I recently purchased a new camera so please check back for links to photo-cycling blog :D.

Children of Adam

2008-06-23T01:12:00.002-05:00

"This is the female form divine...
...I am drawn by its breath as if I were no more than a helpless vapor,
all falls aside but myself and it."
Walt Whitman

This is the female form,
A divine nimbus exhales from it from head to foot.
It attracts with fierce undeniable attraction,
I am drawn by its breath as if I were no more than a helpless vapor,
all falls aside but myself and it,
Books, art, religion, time, the visible and solid earth, and what was expected
of heaven or fear'd of hell, are now consumed,
Mad filaments, ungovernable shoots play out of it, the response likewise ungovernable,
Hair, bosom, hips, bend of legs, negligent falling of hands all diffused, mine too diffused,
Ebb stung by the flow and flow stung by the ebb, love-flesh swelling and deliciously aching,
Limitless limpid jets of love hot and enormous, quivering jelly of love,
white-blow and delirious juice,
Bridegroom night of love working surely and softly into the prostrate dawn,
Undulating into the willing and yielding day,
Lost in the cleave and of the clasping and sweet-flesh'd day.

This is the nucleus - after the child is born of woman, man is born of woman.
This is the bath of birth, this the merge of small and large, and the outlet again.
Be not ashamed women, your privilege encloses the rest, and is the exit of the rest,
You are the gates of the body, and you are the gates of the soul.
Walt Whitman
Children of Adam
self-portrait

"It's Alright. I see rainbows."

2008-06-18T14:23:00.003-05:00

"I don't believe in -isms, I just believe in me. Yoko and me. Once you believe in yourself completely, and are unafraid to be yourself, there is nothing that can hurt you. If I am always being myself, there is nothing to be ashamed of, because I am not ashamed of who I am (all the foolishness included). I don't discourage my own individuality, though it is looked down upon by some people. I don't snub out whatever flame might be burning in me. Eccentric is not a bad thing.."

*)**(*

2008-06-16T13:03:00.004-05:00

i have a plant that is growing on my window seal. it is a leaf now, but some day will make it's way down my window seal becoming longer & more complicated. but today it is a leaf. however without the aid of water, sunlight, air, & myself. this leaf will never spring into that luscious plant.

today i learned that though a dream may be yours. it will never be achieved on your own. who would martin have been if no one came to the march on washington. who would barack be without his wife or grandparents or liberal bloggers he's never met? i believe that many times we think we are alone or that we must do the work alone. but we fail to realize the greatest resource we have. the greatest aid to success we have access to is each other. for every dream i have i know of one person or could find a person who could aid me in achieving it. today-i was holding hands in a circle of people, many of whom i did not know. i discovered this about myself & it moved me. i felt the unsettled feeling i used to feel as a child when i was upset to the core & about to cry. what i spoke about in that circle was that i love people greatly & would go at great lengths to assist them. to contribute to them fulfilling their dreams. or getting what they need. but i myself don't want to ask for support. or feel ashamed when i need something.

what i realized today was that my shame. my guilt. my fear. prevents others from having the opportunity to contribute to my life. i think that's why people have kids (for the most part), to contribute to someone. to aid a little person in growing to their brightest potential. to love someone to life. for me what i am going to do is give up my fear of asking for support. my shame. & guilt. & allow people to love me the way i love them. allow them to contribute to me & my dreams. for myself i am creating the possibility of being cared for. to be that plant sitting on the window seal. being water. lit up. & nurtured by kindness & love.

"it seems to me that trying to live without friends is like milking a bear to get cream for your coffee. It is a whole lot of trouble, and then not worth much after you get it." --zora neale hurston

ow (click link)

Olfaction Memory

2008-06-12T19:20:00.003-05:00

you stood across the room bare; cloaked by nothing. standing timid & shy in a puddle of your own wears. black-lace waters splashing about your toes, wetting desire, as i looked on waiting, wanting. you. the air was heavy. pregnant with a smell yet to be born, a sultry, seductive scent that would soon be unleashed upon the breeze; filling our lungs like gas chambers, mouths stretch for air. but that scent was no ordinary smell, it was unique, vivid, & bold. that scent was you. a hot thick aroma of simmering juices, waiting for it's moment of pride.---O.W:

The OBAMAS!

2008-06-12T00:40:00.005-05:00

The hope, the dress, the couple. the love. i feel so inspired.

A BiG THANK YOU

2008-06-04T22:15:00.006-05:00

Too often I mindlessly eat something without acknowledging all the nourishment the food is giving me. Food sustains us at the most basic and intimate level. How can I eat something without feeling and conveying my gratitude? And yet I do it all the time, breaking open a coconut 30 minutes before work, or eating dinner while watching a film or reading a book so that I hardly notice what I’m really consuming.

I always felt awkward about thanking a separate God for food, but thanking the food itself makes more sense to me, and helps me to focus on the divinity of all things.

And just like people, food comes in so many marvelous varieties! Just like us, food creates itself over time with the nourishment it extracts from the Earth. And when we eat, we are choosing to make that food a part of ourselves to further create what we are. I know that may seem obvious, but it’s a really beautiful thing when you think about it.

Given all that, not only does not thanking my food feel selfish, but more so, it feels like I’m cheating myself of the joy in seeing the gifts food provides. No big ceremony needed; save the red carpet folks. Just a moment’s pause. Focused attention. Just "Thank you, food."

Bugge Wesseltoft--Heim

2008-06-04T20:30:00.000-05:00

Bike Commuting

2008-06-03T02:29:00.009-05:00

I'm taking this photo to our local bike shop because I need them to "pimp my ride!" This will be me in a few days, except I'll be much, much darker, with shorter, uber-curlier hair, and way more ass. But goodness I love this photo; I am also loving Copenhagen and their bike culture.

Photo courtesy Copenhagen Cycle Chic. There you can find more amazing photos.

*Are there any other black women who commute by bicycle??? I'd love to chat you up sometime. I am starting a sister-blog about bike commuting in Atlanta from a black woman's perspective, with actual pictures and more. Stay tuned.

love,

India

Inspiration: Michael Roach & Christie McNally

2008-06-02T02:03:00.000-05:00

NOT AN ACTUAL PHOTO OF COUPLE* Photographer and models unknown.
"'We are not saying people should live in a tent or 15 feet away from each other,' Mr. Roach said. 'What we are teaching is that there is a direct karmic relationship between every incidence of anger you have in the day and how you see your partner.

'If you are consciously patient with people during the day, you will see more beauty.'"

Listen to this amazing story here!
******
My favorite couple love couple-crush, married Feb. 29, 2008. Who is this?

Drum roll*
Persia White ("Girlfriends) and Saul Williams!! MMMmmmmMM

Andy Bey: Celestial Blues

2008-06-01T07:47:00.001-05:00

"C'mon meditate, lets contemplate
talk to the heavenly bodies
of the universe (times 2)
i got to be free, my spirit's telling me (times 2)
free from all the things that I don't really need (times 2)
my mind is made up, no turning back for me (times 2)
must move with the tides....move straight ahead people.."

SImplywonderful. Give yourself a treat and press play. RIP Bo Diddley

Introducing Danai Gurira

2008-05-28T18:07:00.006-05:00

Ever stumbled across someone who looks so much like you physically that it scares you? The brief, serendipious moment has a long-lasting impact and transcends space and time. And then, there's that 'thing' in the spirit that feels familiar....like same person, similar stories, radically different paths. I love reading Danai Gurira's story; how one single event changed her life's direction. When I think about her, I am reminded of the reality that we are created again and again every single moment. The creation product naturally depends on the events (random or not) around us and self-fulfilling prophecies we produce with our thoughts and actions. There is a saying that you cannot step into the same river twice; even if you step in the same place, the rushing water has changed the river, so it is not the same river. Hopefully, we too grow and are changed by the events that we witness and experience. Hopefully, we are not the same people we were ten years ago, five years ago; or the same person we were last year or even last week. So Danai, if you accidentally stumble across my blurb =), please know that there's an art to finding something sweet when you're not looking for it. I thank you. This was a great interview too =) x. Press play.

in this moment

2008-03-11T13:11:00.005-05:00

....embracing the sweet intersections between the profane and sacred, accepting not knowing anything, becoming, and staying healthy with every beat of my heart. And learning the art of biking in heels. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again...but oh goodness it's hard. ALL suggestions and words of wisdom accepted :).

le'confessiones of a lesbionic nature

2008-02-27T18:19:00.006-05:00

Ilike your deep voice; I told you this all the time and in fact, I was thinking of you on my walk home today from the tea spot. I should have just called you, but the thought of you was such a private intimate moment, that I didn't even want to spoil the splendor of your memory since we no longer talked. I wonder if that makes sense. Cause sometimes, my mind wanders, I can't solidify a thought or a moment in my mind that is heavy enough to hold onto.

But for some reason, you came up more than once as a "tangible thought". And so, I don't want to give those tangible thoughts up, cause they don't happen for me all of the time.

And it is so real. The way that you move inside me, the pressure of my deep insecurity hiding inside of you (still), and the strength of your intense grasp...the sound of your voice...... I can't get over your existence, cause it really is interesting that someone like you existed in my world for...7 months, after surviving an abusive woman... I don't know who you are though....not every single day.... And somehow, getting to know you, was a scary and revealing process. It is revealing not of you though, but of me. Because, I'm not sure what I've built you out to be, but I do understand my fear of you revealing your true self and me being either completely disappointed or completely mesmerized. I don't want to be either, but it's pretty clear to me that there are only two directions for me to go.

I guess my point is that I cannot be unaffected by you as I am by most. And I hadn't planned on meeting anyone new or reconnecting with old connects, anyone who could alter who I am, since, on some level, I need to be exactly who I am right now. But, you have already affected me.

I often believe that there is a reason why we exist in other people's lives, and not as independent entities. We came out of a person because we are only human when connected with (in my case) a woman. So, I surround myself with women always. And every person that I have around me affects me in an evolutionary(and revolutionary) way, even if, sometimes, they aren't a complete positive contribution to my life, I feel their presence and it allows me to grow.

But with you, well, I'm not sure where you fit. I'm not clear on what your role is, or why it is that you have (as I see it) walked into my life (again). If I may quote the "secret" for a moment, I must confess that I have used the law of attraction all of my life, and in that effect, I have always gotten what I wanted. I have always received for what was asked.

With you, my main question is what are you the answer to? What have I asked for that you will provide? I'm curious, oh so curious to figure this out, because, I give thanks for the opportunity to receive you.

If you know, if you have an idea, or perhaps, if you are the one who has requested me, then tell me. I would love to hear it. I would love to know the question. And as I request it, I am sure you will tell it to me. Even if you are unaware, somehow, I think that the question is hidden in your voice. Because I know your voice...that afro-german accented voice. Through your sound, the mere thought of you, I at least understand that, yes, you are the answer ...at least for right now; in this second...that's what i do know for now.

LL/India 2007 (revised 2008)

LOVE lessons 101

2008-01-30T01:33:00.000-05:00

::If someone is pretending to love you then they are using you as a practical tool in order to love themselves. They may not know this.It is quite possible for people to convince themselves that they are in love when in truth they are not,they simply like the idea of being in love.However although they may not know the difference you certainly will.This is a use of unskillful power and causes pain,suffering and anger.Trust your instincts, trust whatever you intuit--that's my mantra; if you feel that you are not truly loved, if the signs of love are not right and you constanly feel something is missing,then you may have the appearance of love,not the real thing.Love is not meant to be a source of pain,humiliation,grief,anger,emptiness or loss.....and the like

If this is your situation then it is better to remove yourself from it. Hard though it might be, it is a courageous step to take ,for only by ending a pretense of love can you allow real love to come to you.

::Love isn't what hurts people. Attachment hurts people. We become hurt because we become attached. Love should be received and given freely, with no strings attached. Far too few people truly understand this. You become attached when you want to hold on to that person. You desire to keep them. Never let them go. You cling to the idea that this relationship, these feelings, this moment, will last forever without changing, yet change is the only constant...unless you're dead, of course. And at this moment, the place where I sit my lovely behind, chooses life.

Once I begin to truly love me, India, the geekygoddess---it all made so much sense. Now I am attracting love because I recognize what it is. How perfect this equation is.

PHOTO: "Being" collection, Zanele Muholi

Keita: 1972 Vintage Schwinn

2008-01-21T00:57:00.001-05:00

The inspirational Malian, self-taught photographer, Seydou Keita.

*My new/1972 Vintage Schwinn..watch out now! Her name tentatively is Sheila Applebottom!!

Love this HOUSE

2007-12-06T02:08:00.001-05:00

LOOK AT ALL THOSE RECORDS!!!!
ALL BEDROOMS SHOULD BE ACCENTED WITH HUGE MIRRORS :)...love this!

Now randomly place multiple stacks of hard-back books with the jackets removed (but of course),fresh fruits, and nude portraits of black women throughout....heaven on earth.

full woman, fleshly apple

2007-12-05T20:59:00.000-05:00

Full woman, fleshly apple, hot moon,
thick smell of seaweed, crushed mud and light,
what obscure brilliance opens between your columns?
What ancient night does a man touch with his senses?

Loving is a journey with water and with stars,
with smothered air and abrupt storms of flour:
loving is a clash of lightning-bolts
and two bodies defeated by a single drop of honey.

Kiss by kiss I move across your small infinity,
your borders, your rivers, your tiny villages,
and the genital fire transformed into delight

runs through the narrow pathways of the blood
until it plunges down, like a dark carnation,
until it is and is no more than a flash in the night.

SONNET XII
by Pablo Neruda

Silence: In Search of Black Female Sexuality in America

2007-12-03T03:49:00.000-05:00

"In the Manichaean world of black sexuality in America, Mya B points out that there are two stops for the black female:Jemima and Jezebel, one undersexed, the other oversexed."

Promotional Synopsis

This 74-minute documentary explores the reasons for sexual silence in the black community with historical facts and testimonies that dates back to slavery and the myths that were created about black women from slavery, the Jim Crow era, and up to now.

In this documentary, fifteen black women in Chicago from all ages, backgrounds, and professions speak for the very first time about their sexual wants, needs, and desires, aiming to clarify these sexual misconceptions and reveal the truth about their sexuality "in their own words."

In the age of misogynist hip hop, as black women are portrayed as "freaks," Mya B sets to destroy the present sexual myths about black women. Among those interviewed, Little X and Nzingha Stewart, two well-known black music industry and the societal impact of the "video hoe" images.

Mixed with melancholic music, film clips, and hard-hitting interviews from every-day people, professors, and music video directors. This film takes us on a journey into American history, unveiling the hidden skeletons that lie deep in the bedrooms of many slave owners.

Eat-Mangoes-Nekkid

Magick Moon Women|A film by INdia

Photo by Saudade

Tipsy Lovers on a Saturday night

Osun: Return of the Mothers

Great Cosmic Mamas' Templar Spaceship

Hostel in the Forest MIni Tour with India

Back packing in the nude

saudade's jazz, arts, and sex (an OLOwo production)

Meet Artist and Lover, Saudade

The Resilience of Women

Healing Serum

An answer to a man's question, "what can i do about women's liberation?"

Channeling Spring

Saudade's Inspiration (For mature audiences)

Self Portraits: Modern Woman, Indigenous Spirit

Speaking on photography and vulnerability

1st Self-Portrait 2010: Thoughts become things

AVATAR: the biopic of India's life

I create for my own healing

Artist Statement: First Draft

A SkyDiving Adventure

india-saudade.com, coming in THREE WEEKS

India-Saudade.com (Artistic Alchemy, coming soon)

Photo by Saudade

Saudade and India as next Gilbert and George

Textures, Textures, Highlights, and Improvistion

Axataria: Freedom of worry

My Flicker Page

When circles meet: One

I am stillness

Figure

Lucille Clifton

Sometime in March 09

Spring, deux

Spring

Fun times in nature

Snow in Atlanta in MARCH!

Original

Art Modeling: Thoughts become things 1.2

Daily Bread

Self portrait: Experiencing

Thoughts become things

Goals for Jan-March 2009

Self portrait: Red light and Yr-End Review

The simple things: Edited by India

Barack Obama

Gratitude during Holy-days

PhotoShare: Khalid and I "working"

Reflections of Self

Gratitude

Poster: Love (Click to Enlarge)

Book of Gratitude, in the works

PHOTO SHARE: bookSHelf in the kitchen

Sometime in November....

Gratitude

I VOTED

Thoughts from words

GRATITUDE

Moving out of Atlanta for school: It's Official!

SUNSHINE, plus a hot track

Surrender

Untittled mutterings

India's - Affirmations

Bike-bus or bus-bike

Spiritual Beings, Human Experience

Video Narrative

Bikes and Pears: Meet Major

My FIRST VIDEO ever

Terrence Trent D'arby and Kilimanjaro

LIFE as a NUDE MODEL

Sexuality, spirituality, creativity

A Literate Passion

Sex, as MAGICKal MAGIC

Children of Adam

"This is the female form divine... ...I am drawn by its breath as if I were no more than a helpless vapor, all falls aside but myself and it." Walt Whitman

"It's Alright. I see rainbows."

*)**(*

Olfaction Memory

The OBAMAS!

"This is the female form divine...
...I am drawn by its breath as if I were no more than a helpless vapor,
all falls aside but myself and it."
Walt Whitman