Oakland-based Yeye Luisah Teish is a Yoruba priestess and a daughter of Oshun, the African Venus. When I first met Teish in the mid-80s at the Council of Feminine Fire in Ojai, California, she blew me away. As a newcomer to the ways of the Goddess, I’d never experienced a woman who was so in her power – not to mention her body! I soon devoured her autobiography, Jambalayah, and … [Read more...]

  “Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.” –Muhammad Ali   Comedian and talk show host Dick Cavett once stopped by to see his friend Muhammad Ali being filmed in New York. “The producer said Ali was being … [Read more...]

Once upon a time in the 1830s, a young Englishman named Joseph and a young French woman named Elizabeth fell madly in love. But Elizabeth’s wealthy father, who was Joseph’s employer, refused to let them marry – and disowned his daughter when she eloped. So, the newlyweds took a brave step: They left France and hopped on a ship to the New World. After landing in Mississippi, … [Read more...]

In her essential new book, Talking on Eggshells: Soft Skills for Hard Conversations, Sam Horn shares a story about a man whose mother had been in a rest home for three years. He used to dread driving out to see her because all she ever did was complain. Mom’s favorite topics included her roommate (who blared the TV night and day), how no one came to see her, and her numerous … [Read more...]

Miami-based four-year-olds Zuri Copeland and Jia Sarnicola hit it off instantly when they met at school, and have been best friends ever since. The girls, who just turned ten, actually believe themselves to be twins – and they became instant celebrities when their story hit the media in 2017. Unsurprisingly, both Zuri and Jia have the Sun (as well as assertive Mars and … [Read more...]