Palo Mayombe is often called the dark side of Santeria, but nothing could be further from the truth. The roots of this African religion originate from the Congo area. The Palo tradition was preserved primarily by the slaves who were transplanted to the Americas during the Spanish colonial days. Although the majority of slaves that were brought here were the Yoruba people of West Africa, other major tribes were taken from the African continent including the Bantu of the Congo area.… Continue

Feng Shui Money Tips
by Stephanie Roberts


Do you know where your financial "power spots" are? The contemporary methods of feng shui associate prosperity issues with the back left corner of any space. Stand at your front door facing into the house; your wealth area is at the back of the house on the left-hand side. There's also a wealth area within each room: facing in from the doorway, it's the corner area in the back of the room on the left-hand side. Where are the wealth areas within your of… Continue

Feng Shui for the Heart of Your Home
by Stephanie Roberts

The kitchen is sometimes called "the heart of the home," and with good reason; in ancient cultures the hearth was a sacred place representing the life-giving sustenance of Earth's bounty. Feng shui recognizes the kitchen as one of the most important rooms in the house because it is where we connect with the energies that nourish us physically (food), financially (money), and emotionally (family). It reminds us to see the kitchen not just… Continue

The first and last lines of the poem "Guinea" by Jacques Roumain:

It's the long road to Guinea
Death takes you down
Here are the boughs, the trees, the forest
Listen to the sound of the wind in its long hair
Of eternal night . . .

There, there awaits you beside the water a quiet village,
And the hut of your fathers, and the hard ancestral stone
Where your head will rest at last.

(Translation by Langston Hughes, 1958)

Ok, so as many of you may know, I will be off to Alaska before too long. So, I figured I would try out a new hobby for a new location. I chose Knitting. A friend of mine across the street who just came back from Japan is like a freakin' knitting guru and has taught me the basics. I figured, knitting would become useful in Alaska anyhow, with the prices of things being so crazy now-a-days, I could just knit a cool new beanie or scarf, socks, sweater, etc. ( plus I have picked up some cool pattern… Continue