blessings // buttons y'all ~ here is where you can push the buttons of meaning and poetic interpretations of angel & angle windows of insight. peek around, there's a lot to see. (you may discover a key) For me? To sew is bestow! (buttons are like seeds) my aim is to frame THAT name : my sight is to ignite and thus write N2 PARADISE CLARITY. (for what is understanding if not for the s3arch & struggle to get there?)
i find it curious, that when folks check in on you, they continue with wonder: “how have you been? what have you been up too? long time no talk too, what’s been happening?” however, those same people can’t / wouldn’t / haven’t – taken anytime to press play to engage in your latest creation.
🤔🧐🤨
if you want the message to relay; indeed all you need to do is press play and LISTEN! (i would really appreciate your feedback / criticisms especially if you make it through the whole thing!
this project was originally released 2 years ago as a written text, featuring 10 chapters with a lot of colorful poetry and allegory. i’ve done the difficult arrangement of writing, editing, and recording it all. There’s no ‘physical’ copy of this book yet because i really want folks to listen as opposed to flipping through the pages and missing something.
Typos notwithstanding, there’s a message! May you get through! Whether through the Angel (😇) or Angle (📐)
Blessings and thank you for everyone that has taken the time! This was done at no cost to you, but if you wish to give a love token and donation :
today i learned is National ‘Count Your Button Day!” it happens every 21st of October! i’ve long been fascinated with buttons as a form of accessory, design, and placement. the act of sewing a button down is very therapeutic for me. hence ‘button therapy’. it’s a symbol of accomplishment and story telling.
I ain’t counting all THEZE!
how many buttons are too many? some would argue / there’s never enough buttons! they’re people with jars and boxes – never ending stacks upon stacks of buttons from varying sizes and kinds. i could get lost (and have spent a lot time organizing and separating by color and kind.) it doesn’t end. i started to take all my buttons out and count them individually but not only is that incredibly daunting – I don’t want to make the time for that. who am I counting them for? do I send the number to the national button collection agency for a raffle for more buttons?
all my 4’s are x’s (4 button holes) all my 2’s are 1’s (2 button holes)
buttons are blessings, truly! they provide different ways of seeing color and direction. I wear enough buttons to make noise to my dryers. I come to make noise or at the very least a jingle and song. the louder the better! I been making dryer machines sing melodies since 2011. 😀 (it’s been 9 years since I started sewing buttons regulary)
growing up in my old church – there was a congregational song commonly sang *one that I still sing very often to myself*
“COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS! NAME THEM ONE BY ONE! COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS SEE WHAT GOD HAS DONE! COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS! NAME THEM ONE BY ONE! WHY DON’T YOU JUST COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS! SEE WHAT GOD HAS DONE?”
blessings, y’all! I love saying that! it’s a proper greeting! blessings! blessed be! we’re blessed and highly favored! blessed cuz we have seeds that can grow into multi-colored flowers!
There’s a lot that’s been said about ‘Sin’. I heard so much about it growing up. Haven’t we all? Sin has the reputation for being that thing that disappoints g-d. Transgression. When you bypass the law in favor of responding to the lusts of your flesh. With this song, I wanted to challenge the typical core beliefs surrounding sin. What makes some things sinful while other things are just tradition?
So much of sin is made up of the things we consider taboo. A lot of people are afraid of doing what they wanna do because of the punitive punishment that has been attached to their desires. This is most common if you were raised in a strict religious and or dogmatic environment. I came up with the idea for this song after writing about sin and the power it had on my life for so while as a Christian. I was always curious about sin and the nature of its influence in my life.
This was a teaching moment to me upon my awareness of growth and desire and hopefully, you may find this useful in navigating your life. If you listen at the end of this song, Stanley Wrinkles comes in to deliver an important message. Who is this, Stanley Wrinkles some might ask?
Stanley Wrinkles is a character I came up with back in 2005 not long after Hurricane Katrina took my family to Texas. He’s a preacher that is passionate about Jesus and sharing the message of the truth. Whether prayer, preaching or talking – he’s always passionately sharing in some way or another.
AND NOW THERE’S DESSERT #1!
My Homie Jeremy Garner was the mastermind behind the production of this track! I remember when he first sent this to me and how amazed I was how fast it came together. The rock metal edge really gives this song a kick and really just stands in your face and sends bones down your spine.
Take a listen and please do enjoy and share with me what you think?
“I can’t speak for anyone else, but I either know or I don’t know.”
“It is only by grace through faith that we are saved. It is sort of like saying can you be saved if someone is reaching down the grab you from a sinking ship, but you smack the hand, then no you can’t be saved cause you are rejecting what can save you.”
You can have faith and be lost too. In our mindset, we know where we gonna go but in reality, things will throw us off and we can get lost for a little IF we pay attention to that escape that is prepared for us to exit to that right path. So either way, both sides can get lost with or without faith. We just need to wake up and pay attention.”
“Only in case one is religious.”
“If you’re sincere.”
“Belief = Faith Faith=Belief.“
“You can have all the faith in the world and still the one doing the saving can still choose to say no.”
“I Like To Believe That All Roads Lead Home.”
“If you ask from religious folks their answer is yes.”
“All forks in the roads lead to a destination.”
“Lost or found – faith has little to nothing to do with it.”
“Sometimes being lost is better than being found rather than being taken back to a house that isn’t a home.”
“Yes, because if you don’t keep the faith – you are already lost, but what’s wrong with being lost?”
“Faith is neither here or there – it’s a word to describe hope which we all have to some extent. Not having this, doesn’t make you anymore at ‘home’ than you being lost until you get to your destination.”
“Faith is a worthy substitute. Our “gut feeling” comes from nowhere else but the highest. Some people call it common sense. Some people call it instinct. If people ask for evidence of proof, I believe that your mind and feelings are sufficient enough.”
“Faith is born of evidence given in mysterious forms.”
With me, I can see the evidence unfolding but it’s not ready to give birth yet. But my faith is like it has to be there, it just has to be there, oh it’s going to be there, heck yeah it’s there!!! BAM there it is after the fact. It scares me and then I’m reminded of Him that I asked and my faith was just strong to break those walls down!
Do I believe in God? Heaven and Hell? Evidence and proof of a feeling, proof of our own human minds. What is right and wrong? Judgements! Create feelings! Hate is a choice. We must unlearn! I will say this for the record. I have been told I am going to Hell because of my demonic queer, lifestyle. So ungodly! This is what I tell the people who tell me this.. To be honest, I would be happy and grateful to go to Hell. Finally surrounded by my LGBTQ family, it would be one big happy LGBTQ dance party. I would be much safer in hell, then I am, here, on earth. The reality I live, is that people want me dead, because of religion, and religious beliefs, is that being Christian? I thought that was 1 of the ten commandments,”thou shall not kill?” Oh but you’re not actually taking a gun and pulling the trigger, but you are! You are separating yourself individually and now as a collective whole with judgments, right and wrong, those bullets are silent and yet very deadly… and Yes there are real bullets too. People actually die in the LGBTQ community. Someone in my LGBT family was murdered, found dead, two weeks ago, this exists people. Check your faith people – what you believe.
If it’s a belief, it’s not evident.
I think the very definition of faith is to believe without evidence. If someone tells me that there’s money growing on the tree in their yard, I’m going to want evidence before I turn up with my basket and start picking! But faith is almost a form of esoteric evidence, where you know something is true, even though you don’t have the evidence required to prove it to someone else. Luckily, we don’t have to, which is why faith is usually either a very personal, or else community-focused thing. I’m genuinely puzzled by religions that try to convert people because they literally have no evidence to show, so they are trying to somehow generate faith in another’s heart, and that’s like trying to make a rainbow. You can’t make a rainbow, only God (or the Universe/alternative higher power/science) can do that, and it typically needs a particular set of circumstances in the lead up to it. In general (although there are exceptions), the bigger the storm, the brighter the rainbow. Similarly, the bigger the crisis, the brighter faith shines in someone’s heart when it finally arrives (and it probably doesn’t ring the doorbell!)
Not having evidence and believing is Faith.
Thank you to everyone who participated so far! You may or may not find your answer here but this series will continue on until July. My goal in providing these answers are not to dissect the categories of where these answers stem from. Philosophy and opinions share the same veins and the goal here is to expose the blood that gets us going. Although, we are not always going. Standing still in the middle of our quest – while we interrogate the ‘WHY’. What leads us to these various paths? The more we ask – we get a little bit closer.
Wanna sing but have no inspiration? Wanna dance but afraid of the crowds? Wanna be a star but trapped in the nucleus of a black hole? Can’t manage to be happy but rather sad at the lack of currency? Wanna exchange lives but have no soul? Wanna fly but have no wings for flight?
The answer is found in the journey of nothingness. There ain’t nothing that can be said about the ‘something’ you ain’t do. There ain’t no sound or voice for the victim of the blame. There is only the charade of guilty bells which ring on Sunday’s morning condemnation sermon.
Messages like:
“GET RIGHT OR GET LEFT! YOU HAVE NO TIME. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
Truth be told, there’s ain’t no expected time for your growth or healing.
A pill of circumstance only wishes to be blessed. There ain’t no curse more lethal than not accepting one for who they are. This is where religion or ‘overt spirituality’ or politics or anything other than love gets in the way. Anytime there is a barrier or line drawn – the point is missed.
LOVE IS THE ONLY LAW.
You can’t control someone’s choices. The moment you feel compelled ‘To warn someone of their wickedness..” you presume you know what’s good and likely the ‘good’ things are found in the word you desperately have hidden in your heart – so that you won’t sin against the G-d of YOUR choice. You have every right to believe and act according to your belief. Belief is one thing, sharing it to the point of extreme evangelism is another.
People who talk to G-d are usually cool with me. But the people who G-d talks to? Sheeeiit. Did you hear g-d or was that just you? Could it all be just what you want to believe? I’m not against positive thinking, it’s helpful. I’m just saying, g-d telling you to do this, go there, say this, preach this – makes me wonder who’s agenda is really being upheld? We all know humans do a very good job at speaking for the divine. Humans claim to be instruments in which the divine flows through.
This is one of our purposes in life. To partake in a journey to reach places as our evolution leaps into the next door.
If you can’t see the journey as a stepping stone than what is it? A waste of time? An empty hall where you were forced to go through with no promise at the end? Didn’t you have fun or was it just to make you depressed afterward? What was it all for if you can’t smile and cry with the pages of your history?
For it was written and it can’t be erased by the present pen. The walls are finished and the stage is set. You must perform even when nervous, eat while you are sleeping. This is how you learn and grow from the visions set before you.
Dreams await you where a love can be seen again for what they are worth. What’s it all for? A record to be known and seen for what it means for your abilities to see with intent. It’s all for love but love ain’t always easy. Love is about the thrill of knowing what it is to want to have without.
Lately, I’ve been discussing the recent Paisley Park Experiences with friends, and how spontaneous they are. You aren’t always given any warning, sometimes only three hours before it begins. Unlike several previous times, we were informed through @PURPLESSENCE (Paisley Park’s Official Twitter Handle) a night before, after reading Iris Perez’s detailed experience at Paisley herself, that there would be a Dance Party in light of the recent Baltimore Uprising. 30$ Cover.
How does one invite someone to something as spontaneous as Paisley Park?! “Hey, Prince is opening his studio, and you are invited! It goes on for about five hours at a time, could be longer but it’s ultimately determined by this thing we call ‘The Everlasting Now’. We don’t know if he’s gonna perform, but there will be great dancing and 360 sound in the best sound spaces you could imagine! You down?
How does one turn that down? That’s the thing: YOU DON’T. You just GO! Every experience at Paisley is different and seemingly always tailored for the occasion.
Before the show even started, we were entertained by the two DJ’s out, making sure our feet raced on the carpet in the Luv4OneAnother room. A room allowing of space, but extremely faint compared to the Main Sound Stage. Our feet needed more room to play. There were about 300 of us there as a family unit. We were then carried through visual time travel to the Main Sound Stage.
Soul Train clips plastered on the screen, all seemingly in sync with the music played. (Shout out to Rosie Perez, as she demonstrated some of the most fly moves on screen – responded by Denise…as she shared some taunting moves too!!)
Soul Train then morphed into select pieces of artwork, dressed on the projector, in high definition, which served as a great lucid endearment. But then there is a live video to get you going too! Several, 3rdEyeGirl – videos from London were shown. Alongside with never before seen clips. The private performance of Lianna La Havas was shown at her home in London, that she did earlier last year.
Including the video (Which was only available as audio before) from The Infrared Showcase, that was briefly online on YouTube – a show for Appolonia who starred in Purple Rain – Seeing Prince play Endorphinmachine and ‘She’s Always In My Hair’ right before her, was a magical thing to witness.
An emotional tear evoking performance of Jimi Hendrix on guitar had us all soul lifted. Liv Warfield alongside, in the visual experience, made up for a great night. I’d pay 30$ just to see that again. It was crafted so well and really had your heart beating for the next page.
We all enjoy when Prince performs, it is the closest thing we have to conversation without actually speaking to him.
Music is Prince’s language.
We tend to underestimate the language in which Prince speaks through his music. This man is literally an instrument, and he is capable of talking with more than his voice. He uses instruments to channel his raw emotional rendition; whether it’s his guitar, keyboard, or even bass guitar. All which he played last night, in very select parts of the show. Prince doesn’t simply play music, he is music. Engaging instruments like a scientist, utilizing space, to engage in a significant conversation with musical rhetoric.
It seemed he had a story to tell concerning the recent chaotic experiences. Starting off with Chaos & Disorder and falling into Dreamer. “Chaos & Disorder, ruling my world today”.
Dreamer is one of the most memorable of the night. Prince puts down his Ax for a brief moment only to play around with his keyboards. He remained there for about five minutes, to offer a rendition that was more than words can say. Lost, through his keyboard and synth stabs, he was caught within space. After feeling satisfied with his delivery of piano ministry, he heads back to his guitar with a little bit more to say.
“Peanut Butter Logic – Served on a bed of lies, don’t go down to easy when you see your Daddy crying. Have you ever clutched the steering wheel of your car – tight? See in Chanhassen we ain’t scared of the police at night, but I wasn’t always here..”
(Prince hasn’t always been in the best sides of town, he knows how the cops can be in less progressive and privileged communities)
He made mention of the chemicals chasing people at night in the skies – Encouraging the crowd to keep our 3rd Eye Open… Like CBS “So that we could SEE their B.S.”
Prince being aware of the struggles that certain communities experience.
He asked:
“Where you from?”
While answering through his guitar – a melodic sadness which seemed to correspond to what comes from being questioned by the police.
Crimson And Clover was accentuated by Donna’s divine guitar playing. The song reached the boiling point in which Prince delivered the first striking guitar solo. A guitar story which reached a climatic baptizing, wherein Prince expressed his most sensual and pulsating guitar mannerisms like he was simply drinking water.
The crowd engaged repeating “Over & Over..”
We then are reminded, He loves us- But not like his Guitar. And we can see Donna LOVES her guitar too.
Prince really enjoys talking with his guitar, it seems. Sure, he has his loves, but when he plays guitar – we can see, he loves that a bit more.
What is Plectrum Electrum?! It’s a guitar pick that is in an electric relationship with emotional translation. He explains with Donna just what Plectrum Electrum is. Guitars echo with extreme fire and awakening power.
The crowd cheers and all of us scream. More!
He then gets on the bass guitar and performs ‘The Whole Of The Moon” (A cover by the Water Boys)
Easily the funkiest part of the night, The full of the moon punctuated the experience of the night.
Prince invited several people on stage to harmoniously groove our way back to the Dancefloor.
While he didn’t perform the new song, Baltimore like he did for Iris. We got a whole lot of music that redeemed the conversation on Freddie Gray, and what’s going on in Baltimore. Prince doesn’t have to call it by a song name, he said what he needed in the arrangement and heart of the night.
Another Paisley Night covered by pure passion. An emotional experience that is molded by the gift of music. Sure it was entertainment but it felt like a Love Trip. It’s an experience – an emotive spiritual consequence is born at that place. The sudden nature of spontaneous dictum declares a victorious revival. Energies are restored, feet (while battered and bruised from dancing) travels the distance needed for redemption. The Cycle of The Moon Effects The Motion of the Sea What You Did Prince?! On top of that – it’s spent with friends and family! Thank YOU to Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL.
“We R 3RDEYEGIRL AND SO ARE YOU”.
Set List For The Curious(Keep In Mind..A Song Title is what it is. The name of the song. It doesn’t at all speak to how he translated it live and what emotion was geared in when we heard it)
Chaos And Disorder Dreamer Crimson And Clover Guitar Plectrum Electrum The Whole of The Moon
writing until the pen runs N2 paradise clarity! (by uniform & random means) 