Deliberately Alive: A Reflection on the Book "Spirit of Intimacy" by Sobonfu Some

 

October 25th Personal Reflection Notes:


There are two books that have been brought to my awareness this past week, by the two people who are totally unrelated, both whom I admire greatly. The books are actually by a husband and wife, respectively. Malidoma Patrice Some’s book The Healing Wisdom of Africa and The Spirit of Intimacy by Sobonfu Some are inspiring and informing me in a much needed way right now.


In The Spirit of Intimacy the overarching concept relates to purpose and its intertwined connection to romantic relationships and intimacy. I just love how so much thought-provoking and spirit moving information is hitting me in each page of this book. I ordered the book but enjoy listening to the text read aloud by a woman (Jyn Sen) on Youtube. 


In the first chapter, the awareness of how people live in Burkina Faso is taking me back to my experience riding on a bus for 24 hours from Lome, Togo to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in February of 2011. I remember driving through the land of the Dagara people and maybe even nearby or through the largest village of Dano, mentioned in the book. Unfortunately, I was not aware of what to call the people I was seeing or the land we were driving through. I simply took in all of the  "cultural clues" presented, like the regular highway checkpoints, the sounds and scents of my fellow passengers on the bus, the French and other languages spoken, the inexpensive hot chai-like tea with ingredients stored in recycled gasoline containers and boiled in an ancient relic of a kettle, served at rest stops, men on bicycles carrying huge clay pots for miles, undoubtedly and other forms of transportation making the long journey across the hot and arid land. 

 

C:\Users\Maraina\Pictures\West Africa\Ouagadougu to Wa escape! (6).JPG

 

I thank my younger self for having documented as much as I did of my time spent living in West Africa in  THIS virtual scrapbook. I too have pages of journal notes documenting my most intimate thoughts, feelings and beliefs from that time in my 20s. A future autobiography (or some other creative work utilizing these artifacts) is in my spirit


C:\Users\Maraina\Pictures\West Africa\Burkina Faso and FESPACO (5).JPG

There is SO much in me that I just want to maximize, share and leverage for a greater good/purpose. One constant concern that drives me, is the importance of not squandering all that my people have sacrificed in order for me to experience/receive the truly remarkable life that I have come to live.


Back to The Spirit of Intimacy! It has always been my belief that partnership (and therefore, intimacy) has the incredibly powerful function of heightening/strengthening/propelling the process of self-actualization for those intimately engaged. I LOVE Scott Peck's definition of the word 'love' as he writes in his book "The Road Less Traveled," “...the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.’


It is becoming more clear that when I feel truly connected with someone, that it must be related to this deeply rooted belief in partnership as a tool for self-actualization- this is why I mostly feel a genuine attraction to people who's worldview and lifestyles align with my own or my aspired outcomes


I am not "waiting" or "hoping" that someone comes into my life to empower me to live as my best self, however. This is something different.

 

What I love about what I am gaining from The Spirit of Intimacy is connecting an awareness of (or the harnessing of) true intimacy with the possibility that it can result in outcomes that benefit the community by the nature of one’s purpose being rooted in a greater good. Maybe this is convoluted for some, but hopefully there is someone out there who gets my flow.


Stepping off my soap box by providing an awareness of other great works by the late Sobonfu Malidoma:


  • The Spirit of Intimacy: Ancient Teachings in the Ways of Relationships. New York, NY: Quill, 2002. ISBN 0688175791

  • Welcoming Spirit Home: Ancient African Teachings to Celebrate Children and Community. Novato, CA: New World Library. ISBN 1577310098[7]

  • Falling Out of Grace: Meditations on Loss, Healing and Wisdom. El Sobrante, CA: North Bay Books. Arms, S. (2002). ISBN 0972520023.

  • Women's Wisdom from the Heart of Africa. Louisville, CO: Sounds True, 2004. ISBN 1591791618





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Time Has Come...

Inner Peace and Positivity as we set sail into this Pivotal New Year! The time has come, in my life, to look much further in advance than ever before. Once a woman so greatly fulfilled by the mysterious pleasures concealed within each surprising moment, I felt it limiting and undesirable to plan for the days that followed in advance. Ultimate freedom and the true maximization of ones 20’s, to me, was being open to the will of the wind. As a result, my life thus far has planted me in and out (thankfully) of some tremendously educational adventures. However, recently a combination of multiple factors has encouraged me to question the longevity, cause, effect and true reasoning behind my “will of the wind” life philosophy. Turning 26, living partially and/or fully abroad for the last 7 years, entering my first and hopefully last true-love relationship, and the timing of the changing year are a few. I’m growing up, and I look SO forward to living a comfortable & adventurous life. This...
Read more

9 Fitness and Motivation Tips

In this post, I want to continue to motivate myself and others to get the body they want, need and deserve! For me, achieving the body type that I have always wanted is well on the way to becoming a reality! As many of you know, I’m a pretty health conscious person and along with working hard to avoid “dangerous foods,” I also try to keep active. However, I’ve realized that though my past routine was working better than doing nothing at all, it was not enough. I have ALWAYS battled with weight and my innate desire to always consume absolutely fabulous and delicious foods. For this reason, I, like many women I know, was on this diet & exercise roller-coaster ride that had no end in sight. Meaning, I’d go super hard and make progress (usually in spring and summer) and then self-sabotage myself by feeling & looking “good enough” to indulge in the “good-life” … a little. Well, the period of indulgent seemed to always last a little too long and reflected in the way I looked &...
Read more

Can you see me??... Wild Hair, Ruby Lips and Workin' those drums!! YEEAAA!!

Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny. - Charles Reade Do you write your goals down? If not, why? Is it because you look at it the same way you do flossing? Something you know, and have been told repeatedly, is a great way to stay healthy and yet the actual act of doing it just somehow never gets done. No? You actually do floss on a regular basis. Wow, you are extraordinary! Well, me and most other Americans, 73% actually, would rather go grocery shopping. So, I guess you also write and update your goals than too?! Go get um, Tiger! But as I mentioned, “The Time Has Come!” So here are my life goals: * Achieve ULTIMATE physical health and mental well-being * ASAP, Earn a Master’s Degree at the School for International Training (SIT) in Vermont * Become proficient in more than 5 languages (English, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, soon to be French and ??) * Live & work ...
Read more