Social Rooted in Both Worlds: A Doula's Return to the West Side On Black Maternal Health, Ancestral Practice, and Building What Our Mothers Deserved By Zetanefert Zipewtu, Founder, Our Mothers' Light Birth & Baby Village On April 17th, I will walk back into a building that raised me. New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church sits on the West Side of Chicago, By The Rising Firefly • 6 min read
Social On NASA & The Space Race Opinion Piece By Kenibashu Saikaptah Two days ago, flicking my thumb against my programming device, I came across a video with a caption that read "Artemis II has officially launched. The first human mission to the moon since 1972..." Before the video finished, I was already reciting Gil By The Rising Firefly • 4 min read
Environmental Return to Nature: Unveiling the Hidden Truth Behind Modern Illness by Hatnima Shemzura Throughout history, colonial powers didn’t just invade with guns and swords — they invaded with miseducation. Before physically conquering African lands and other parts of the world, the invaders studied and imitated the natural and spiritual ways of a life they found. But instead of honoring what By The Rising Firefly • 3 min read
Indigenous Wisdom There is no action that ends: A personal reflection by Christine Packard I used to believe that my actions ended when the moment passed. If I spoke a harsh word, I assumed or hoped it dissolved into the air once silence returned. If I offered kindness, I imagined it complete when the smile faded. I lived as though my By The Rising Firefly • 3 min read
Indigenous Wisdom The Point by Mersau Khentimah Has anyone succeeded in preventing the winds from blowing? Has anyone succeeded in preventing the sun from rising or setting? As it will be so from silencing The Gods and Great Ancestors. The ambition of the modern world isn’t to silence nature, that is impossible, but By The Rising Firefly • 2 min read
Environmental The Farm and its teachings on Patience and Tolerance(Suru) by Keniwuru Merutepiaou Growing up in Merita, parents are encouraged to take their children to colonial school at a very young age. One of the distinct things that happens there is, children start being discouraged from agriculture. Subtly, we are taught that farming belongs to the very poor and we By The Rising Firefly • 7 min read
Indigenous Wisdom Mind-Altering Substances and the Spiritual Quest: Paths of Permission, Paths of Prohibition by Ameena Ahmed Throughout human history, spiritual communities have sought methods to thin the veil between the visible and invisible worlds. Some traditions have pursued this aim through ritual intoxication, others through prayer, fasting, breath, rhythm, and disciplined consciousness. The divergence between these approaches reveals not a single spiritual truth, By The Rising Firefly • 4 min read
Social A Travelers Goal by Zebekiya Merutepiaou What do you want to be when you grow up? Where do you want to live? How much money do you want to make? One could go on and on with elaborate, ambitious illusions. None of these is the actual goal in life for the seeker working By The Rising Firefly • 3 min read
Social The Dangers of Being Right By Bezsati Maheqwir Completed - SaMa’at Sometimes it's better to be wrong than to be right. Master NABA said a person who succeeds without failure or making mistakes along the way isn't a winner, and someone who may fall many times along the way isn& By The Rising Firefly • 4 min read
Social Cultural Appropriation and Spiritual Consumerism by Ibasahu Pernebsati Whiteness is not about skin color because Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is a very dangerous white male oppressor, and his skin is dark in color. So don’t think this is about skin color or hating yourself, and honestly, the intellectual and emotional exercise of “hating By The Rising Firefly • 5 min read
Cultural The Orchard Lesson by Kemabib Dematepia I was about 10 years old on the day my elder brother and I set out with two older friends foraging for rare fruits in the jungle. After about a kilometer of trekking we located soursop, guava, rare mango and avocado trees. There was a problem; we By The Rising Firefly • 2 min read
Social The Expression of Words by Menksah Hezahadjed Words have power, especially when used precisely and within the appropriate context. My observation is that the word is often suppressed, especially when it challenges the prevailing narrative and contains truths. As the saying goes, “the pen is mightier than the sword”. By The Rising Firefly • 2 min read
