Today
Day 1
Jesse Chief, Navajo, Daniel Hola, Tonga, 'Ofa Huihui Hola, Tonga, Ella Wolfgramm, Tonga, Katinia Nu'usila, Tonga, Joyce Pilimilose Ieremia, Samoa and Tonga, Liliani Losepaki Tupoumalohi, Tonga, and Bridgette Veiongo, Tonga
Healers
Arrival & Grounding
Theme
Honoring the Land, Sacred Spaces
Guided Practice
On this day...
On this first day, focus on setting up what you need for this journey. Take time to arrange your space, clear time in your schedule, and communicate whatever boundaries you may need for this practice. Make a conscious commitment to begin. We begin today by making a land acknowledgement (to find what native lands you are on, see https://native-land.ca/) and connect ourselves to the earth.
Embodied Meditation Practices
Land Acknowledgements
Jesse Chief, Navajo dances to honor the land and her ancestors.
Daniel Hola, Tonga, 'Ofa Huihui Hola, Tonga, Ella Wolfgramm, Tonga, Katinia Nu'usila, Tonga, Joyce Pilimilose Ieremia, Samoa and Tonga, Liliani Losepaki Tupoumalohi, Tonga, Bridgette Veiongo, Tonga share their heritage and dance to honor and celebrate it.
Special thanks to 'Aikona
Ti Tavai and 'amelia leafaitulagi
Peace Corner
Ella Simone Tabu shares her family practices for building a peace corner.
ACTRESS | DANCER | SINGER
Star of stage and screen, Ella Simone Tabu is a triple threat — acting, singing, and dancing. She began her acting career at age two alongside Elmo on a segment of Sesame Street. Since then, this SAG-AFTRA actress has been featured in a host of productions large and small from television commercials for Toys R’ Us and Subaru to television appearances on New Girl and Lost in Space. Little Mermaid and Cats are among Ella’s musical theatre credits. She is also featured in the “Nana” pilot, starring Katey Segal. “Dependents Day” and recently “Survival,” where she plays Elise Neal’s daughter, are among her feature film credits.
Ella steals any room with her captivating eyes and warms the hearts of strangers with her wide cheery smile. When she’s not on stage or screen, her nose is tucked into a book. She enjoys reading fantasy and science fiction novels and collecting American Girl dolls and Lol Surprise.
Ella was discovered by a casting director at Broadway Casting in Santa Monica while she was waiting for her sister at an audition. She sang for her, told her stories, and even posed for her camera. The casting director strongly suggested that Ella’s parents get her an interview with her sister’s agent. They did, and the rest is history.
Follow Ella on Instagram at @ellatabu.
Ancestor Altar
Jynnette the Oracle shares practices for building Ancestor Altars. Read her guide and follow her four foundational components for building your own Ancestral Altar.
Quote of the day
"The first revolution is when you change your mind" - Gil Scott-Heron
Liberation Journal Prompt
How connected is my sense of self to the land that I live on?
What do you envision in your Black future?
Vocabulary
GDM_Day 1 Vocab [NO DATES].pdfWeekly Questions: What is my relationship to my breath? My physical body? How connected is my sense of self to the land that I live on? Who were the original stewards of this land? How have things gotten so twisted? How can I see my own self more clearly? How will identifying my biases help me? What work will I do to excavate my shadow self? What do I believe I need to live safely? What do my neighbors need to live safely? What do the people who live cross town need? What is the relationship between my safety and my breath?
Song of the Day
Listen to the full 28 Day Meditation for Black Liberation playlist made by Mark Gutierrez on Spotify.
“Youth Dem Cold”
By Richie Spice
This song centers black youth’s struggle for basic necessities and the measures that must be taken in order to secure food. Although it is a different context, it reminds me of Malcolm X’s “by any means necessary.”