Ki Notes

A launch essay for Women on the Threshold For decades, people have been clamoring for Lauryn Hill to put out another album. I never felt that urgency. I always felt we hadn’t plumbed the depths of the one she gave us. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is a masterwork. Another album might move our attention away from this one — and this one still has rooms we haven’t entered. So it is with our own lives. For years — decades, for some of us — we have been kept busy with the respo

“The focus here is not on ritual itself, but on opening up something in hearts and spirits that has been locked away so long that individuals can barely remember the source.” -Malidoma Patrice Some'- For much of my life, I felt disorganized and unsettled. I was scattered. To many, it seemed I was grounded, but inside, I was going through the motions, hoping I didn’t appear the way I felt inside. For much of my life, I felt disorganized and unsettled. I was scattered and unfo

"So you must not be frightened if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever see; if a restlessness like light and cloud shadows, passes over your hands and over all you do. You must think that something is happening with you. That life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall." Rainer Maria Rilke In late midlife, a quiet sorrow often weaves through our lives—one that lacks words or a formal farewell. It appears in the s

Week 7: I Can See In Color. Women On The Threshold. Today is the first day of summer, and we are nearing the end of the Spring series. This week’s format is a little different; also there’s a gift at the end. It’s the Summer Solstice, when the sun reaches its highest point. Take this moment, day, week to honor your own light.The Solstice reminds us that growth is not loud or visible. It can happen quietly, through the challenges we overcome, the lessons we learn, and the cour

Week Six — I Can See In Color: Women on the Threshold M. Hakikah Shamsideen "They seem to be different sides of the same coin — while routine aims to make the chaos of everyday life more containable and controllable, ritual aims to imbue the mundane with an element of the magical. The structure of routine comforts us, and the specialness of ritual vitalizes us. A full life calls for both." Maria Popova Most of my days begin the same way. Not because I designed them that way.

Week Four — I Can See In Color: Women on the Threshold M. Hakikah Shamsideen My body, she talks to me all the time. She says “I need.” she says “I hurt.” she says “slow down, pay attention, something isn’t right!” And for years — decades — I tuned her out. Told her I’d get to her later. After. After all the things I felt I had to do. After the people who needed me. After the work I believed couldn't wait. But then a question arose that stopped me cold: Would I do that to