Journey to Empowerment
Read Journey to Empowerment Online
Authors: Maria D. Dowd
Dearest friends and family,
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What a glorious day; what a glorious season. The perfect time to celebrateâ¦you, me, our voices, and our Divinity.
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In the midst of our busy lives, God whispers a reminder for us to stop, breathe, and embrace our Inner Sight. I so desire for us to walk with our heads held high and our wings fully spanned, lighting the world with greater clarity and authenticity.
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Thank you for helping me propel life and substance into this work of art and heart. Thank you for your love and compassion, and for allowing
Journey to Empowerment
to touch your soul. And be sure to spread the word about the other two books in this empowering series;
Journey to a Blissful Life,
and the upcoming one,
Journey Into My Brother's Soul
.
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Also a heartfelt thank you for reaching out and carrying forward the life-force of African American Women on Tour's cozy global village.
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With respect and gratitude,
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Maria
Maria D. Dowd
This book is dedicated to my daughters, Janelle and Lauren, and to my mother “Miss Lula” for faithfully and lovingly serving in the capacity of
keeping it real.
Oh, how interesting the relationships between mothers and daughters can be. They take on dynamic lives of their own, as we try so hard to “not be like,” yet through our journeys of self-awareness and rediscoveryâand in our heart of heartsâwe smile and thank God for our common denominators, as well as for the lessons taught, hard as some may be to swallow. And, I'm not just talking about mother-to-daughter lessons, but also those more gripping daughter-to-mother ones. Yes, my darlings Janellipooh and Ladybug, this is a tribute to the both of you.
I also want to acknowledge and thank the brother-and sister-friends who have journeyed along with me, leaving extraordinary marks on my many lives and my SpiritâBrook, Chris, Dave, Donovan, Emily, Everett, Jamaal, Jan, Lyndon, Sis. Mary, Mutima, Nadine, Rhonda, Daddy Richard, Renee, Sandra, Sarah, Steve (especially for resurrecting my computer on this final deadline night!)â¦and, my beloved grandparents for paving the way. Tremendous hugs to the twenty thousand sistahs who supported African American Women on Tour over the past thirteen years. Each of you, my earth angels, has shown up at just the right time with just the right blessingâ¦and wingspan. Thank you for your love, genius, support and guidance. And, Astämari Batekun, you'll forever dwell in my heart space. Jah love, light, and blessings. Hashima.
Finally, I thank God for bestowing upon me such awe-inspiring gifts and the capacity to bring them to fruition.
J
ourney to Empowerment
offers readers a miscellany of life-transforming experiences and contemplations. It is a key that will hopefully unlock, touch, and liberate our spirits. Through the reflections of others who've walked in our shoes, I truly hope that you'll sashay into a brighter, more lighthearted place.
Journey to Empowerment
would not
be
if not for the holy boldness of my collaborators who have generously bared their souls and truths with the world. I know it took wrestling with emotions and deep breaths to step out and share their moments of reckoning. As I read and pondered, I felt it; as I'm sure you will, too.
The added value of
Journey to Empowerment
is the unconditional permission that has been granted for your Spirit to speak its mind and move those thoughts into words. It's your turn. Yes, within these pages you have unbridled permission to dream, journal, and mindlessly doodleâ¦outside of the box of everyday existence. Write to clear your mind so that the heart can hear the truth and see the vision more clearly. In that quiet time and space, write and writeâ¦from the depths of your being. Don't mull over structure, grammar, or political correctness. Shake up your soul and revere in the enlightening experience. You may use the journal prompts provided, or you may not. Just do what YOUR heart desires. Allow your thoughts to flow, then bask. Permission granted. And, who knows. Your writings just may be the innards of our next
Journey to Empowerment
chapter.
â¦Contemplate quietly,
  â¦Thank prayerfully,
    â¦Dream outrageously,
      â¦Speak honestly,
        â¦Process freely,
          â¦Act courageously,
            â¦Heal wholly,
              â¦And live abundantly.
With love and laughter,
Maria
No matter where we have been on our
Individual journeys on this earth or
Where we are going, We are One.
âMary-Frances Winters
B
Y
M
ARIA
D
ENISE
D
OWD
Our vessel is graced with tireless souls.
Determined in this soliloquy of life,
To stay on due course for the North Star.
Our collective energies crescendo,
In a sea-foam green kind of way.
Each season East meets West,
South heads North.
In b'twixt and b'tween, we stay on path.
While the high seas are rapturous,
They soon become tranquil.
Tropical, then cool; still, then breezy.
Through locks and twists, curls and waves,
Our passion engulfs us in the sweetness
Of the grassroots cause and the empowering
effects.
The navigator is on board, and so are the shipmates.
Collectively we set sailâ¦on due course.
B
Y
M
ARIA
D
ENISE
D
OWD
O
nce upon a time, I heard the term “Purpose Posse.” Bertice Berry used it and it became a permanent part of my “people meditations.” Those two words rang a chime in my head at a time when it was dizzy with fighting what I already knew in my heart. I had allowed too many of the wrong people into my space and they were wreaking havoc on
my
legs and
my
legacy. I was in a place where I was chasing after and running from, and getting nowhere fast. I had finally come to a realizationâand goodness was it painfulâthat this absolutely crazy time and place was a direct reflection of my ill-fated attempt to sail my ship in a direction that I knew wasn't right for me. My Spirit had leaks and those holes rendered my ability to listen to God's whispers impossible.
The comings and goings of men and women in our lives are not by random selection. The right people come into our lives at very specific times, for very specific reasons, as do the wrong people, if for no other reason than to prompt our internal Soul Purpose device and to nudgeâor smackâus back onto our Divine-right path. The wrong people teach us one valuable lessonâdiscernment. And the truest test is on high seas. Who helps us sail through calm and stormy weather and uncharted courses? Who is there for the long haul, and who abandons us at the next port? Who feels like excess baggage? Who attempts to persuade us to debark before we've completed our journey? Who is so fear-filled they take f light or fight us to veer South, when our internal compass points North? Too often in our lives, we give rebels, pirates and other mutinous spirits permission to embark. And then we're forced to pay handsome ransoms for our liberation, our peace of mind.
Aside from that brief moment of insanity, my life continues to be blessed with many adoring, brilliant, innovative, authentic men and women who step onboard my vessel, bearing distinctive domestic and imported blends of soul-soothing and spirit-raising gifts. You know you're on purpose and with your Divine-right Purpose Posse when your heart is calm and your mind rides the waves with ease and grace. You know it because you feel it. And, you feel it because you've sealed the leaks and have allowed Spirit to guide you. Even when our “humanness” surfaces and rears its “oogly” side, we're there when our hearts remain open, loving, forgiving, insightful and faith-filled. Take a look around and take stock of the company you keep.
Keepers of Compassion wrap a thousand arms and thousand hearts around yours and understand from where you come, even when you don't understand yourself.
Keepers of Manhood are our brothers, fathers, uncles and grandfathers who call for discipline, respect and commitment to upholding family. They teach our boys and remind our men.
Keepers of Womanhood are our sisters, mothers, aunties and grandmothers who call for responsibility, nurturing and commitment to sustaining family. They teach our daughters and remind us.
Keepers of Spirituality and Healing Arts lay hands and help us to realign mind with body with spirit.
Keepers of the Compass are our logicians, our voices of reasoning and grounding. They check in to ensure that all things are on due course and according to schedule.
Keepers of the Rig and Cargo help to keep our cupboards stocked, our bodies able and our environment safe and sound from encroaching winds and water.
Keepers of Codes of Conduct remind us of our relationship with the universe, and with the laws of nature and humankind. And they hold court when duty calls.
Keepers of Remembrance and Insight are our conjuring storytellers and translators who “just know” of things past and how they shape things present and future.
Keepers of Commerce are the business minds who bring about the checks and balances in our lives.
Keepers of the Cozy bring us warmth, softness and nurturing. They grab hold and hug for no apparent reason. Then again, they always come at just the right moment. Always.
Keepers of the Chronicles are our lives' missionaries and journalists who silently follow our progress and keep us in their prayers and meditations.
Keepers of the Assist are the “extra” hands on deck. They are our enthusiastic comrades who help get the job, large or small, done. They are the “just doers.”
Keepers of the Flame stand ready at the pilot light. They turn it up and bring it downâ¦euphorically.
All are Keepers of our Lighthouses. They are our beacons, our sentinels, our heavenly and earthly angels who wave the lantern and help to guide our wayâ¦on due course.
A family is much more than folks connected by blood. They are the people whom we can depend on to make us laugh, soothe our hurts and keep us focused. They also enter our lives at different phases of our journey. My extended family isâ¦
Use the past to understand the circumstance, not to predict the future.
âRobin Johnson