Click here to see all POTLUCK pictures...

Everybody say cheese! Thankfully there weren't too many lactose intolerant people present this time because we had 3 different types of macaroni and cheese. All them tasted great. Is anybody still constipated?

Sunday's potluck was an amazing group of entrepreneurs, businessmen and women, lawyers, musicians, dancers, students, educators, writers, fashion experts, and more. There was also a lot of love in the room as we were blessed a few groups of best friends, three couples, and
8 Driving School for Life alumni. The evening involved watching Beyonce's abs, salsa dancing, and a conversation around the last thing you did to love yourself. Answers included going to the spa, getting a gym membership, traveling with friends, singing and dancing freely at home, saying "I love you" in the mirror, moving across the country for love, among others.

We welcome the 14 new potluckers to the family. Thanks again to Ronethea for being such a great host. 17...18...19...20...21 makes this the biggest potluck in New York yet. Potluck has now reached 156 people.

Don't forget to continue loving thyself <3

Upcoming Events

• March 7th: Jullien's Driving School for Life Course. Visit www.drivingschoolforlife.com for details. Save $25 with early registration.
  
• March 12th: James' TechonOrganizing Workshop to get your Gmail organized. Email James at james.e.bartlett@gmail.com for details.
  
• March 13th: Karaoke Soul. Email Pam at pamelasjackson@gmail.com for details.
• March 14th: House Party @ Ronethea & Terry's
  
• March 15th: Potluck #16 in Brooklyn, NY at Kanako & Danya's
  

1. Soak in a bath with candles and music
2. Go for a walk
3. Make yourself a cup of tea
4. Exercise
5. Stretch and move to music
6. Practice Yoga, Tai Chi or another gentle activity
7. Sit in the sun for 15 minutes
8. Change one thing to improve your diet
9. Watch birds and animals interact in nature
10. Sit in a park or garden
11. Take a nap
12. Eat totally healthy for one day per week
13. Be mindful of an ache or pain, focus healing energy and love to that
14. area of your body for 5 minutes
15. Recognize when you need comfort, and seek it out, cuddle up in a warm
16. blanket, light a candle, call a friend, put on loving music etc.
17. Get lost in a book or a movie, or create a fantasy . . .daydream for
18. 15 minutes
19. Be playful or silly, let your inner child play ? color, blow bubbles,
20. paint or sing your favorite childhood song
21. Create a nurturing nook in your home, set up your own personalized sanctuary
22. Cry or laugh with a plant, tree or something from the earth
23. Engage in a hobby or craft project
24. Write yourself a letter about the obstacles you?ve overcome and things
25. like about yourself
26. Do something you have wanted to do for a long time
27. Hug yourself for 3 minutes
28. Breathe deep and think about a calm peaceful place, imagine yourself there
29. Remember a special time that brought your joy
30. Sing
31. Hug someone or ask for a hug
32. Talk to someone by pretending they are there
33. Make a to do list
34. Write a poem
35. Connect with nature
36. Concentrate on the flame of a candle
37. Meditate
38. Pray
39. Talk to your guardian angel
40. Write about your spiritual purpose
41. Write about an experience that has been meaningful
42. Smile every time you see a particular object (one that you see a lot of)
43. Email a friend, tell them how much they mean to you
44. List things you will do to improve your life
45. Identify negative beliefs that limit your life
46. Journal write about your reactions, thoughts, and feelings for a month
47. Learn about a different religion or spiritual practice from your own
48. Make a list of short and long term goals
49. Practice unconditional love and forgiveness with yourself and others
50. Work on your family tree
51. Smile at a stranger, send them thoughts of peace, acceptance and joy
52. Affirm yourself daily
53. Watch children play, talk to your inner child in a loving way
54. Acknowledge yourself for your accomplishments, be proud
55. Talk to or smile at an elder
56. Feel a fear and take a risk
57. Telephone a friend or relative
58. Do something of service for your community or another person
59. Eat something sweet or sour
60. Accept a compliment
61. Read love quotes to yourself
62. Give yourself a hand or foot message
63. Find two things you love about your body
64. Close your eyes, and smile for the gift of life

Potluck Invitation

To my beautiful brothers and sisters of New York,

Carry on the new year vibe and meet great people over great food at Potluck NY#14 this Sunday, January 11th, 2009 from 7-9pm.

Purpose:
The purpose of potluck is to create a space for positive people to connect with one another and to be fed physically, mentally, and spiritually. Ultimately, we want potlucks to take place all over the world in different spaces. Thus far potluck has been hosted 14 times, reaching over 100 people in 5 people's homes.

Special Guests:

You (and your friends!)

Teni's Apartment
25 W 132nd St, New York, NY, 10037

Take the 2 or 3 to 135th.

Please RSVP with a yes/no, guests' names, and your dish.

Bring:

• your authentic self
• a dish to contribute for 4 people
• a book to exchange for another book that someone else brings
  
• love
• a smile, and
  
• another person if you would like

Order:

• good food: an enjoyable dinner prepared by everyone with love
  
• good ideas: a space to help someone get to the next level in life
  
• good convo: a free-flowing discussions on love, life, and Spirit

Peace,

Man oh man! I was the only guy among 6 incredible women until Hack, Kimik, and Jody finally showed up. Fellas, I tried to tell y'all. Where else can you meet down-to-earth out-of-this-world beautiful ladies like this? It's rare that the ratios are skewed like that, but it all worked out in the end. Maybe next time the brothas will outnumber the sistas.

Before potluck even began, there was drama. People walked in with stories of slow buses, rerouted trains, lost cab drivers, and guest appearances from strangers on the walk over. Maybe we should consider doing brunch next time.

We were blessed with the presence of 5 new potluckers! Welcome to the family. With them came a delicious meal - Homemade chili, cornbread, brown rice, jambalaya with shrimp and beef, Dominican chicken, macaroni and cheese, plantains, corn on the cob, and greens.

After hearing about people's wild journey to my house, we finally got into the journey of life. With such a small group, everyone in the room touched the mic and our hearts with their personal story (Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going?). People painted pictures of urban education transformation, women's empowerment, and music revolution. Connected to those were new visions for creating and distributing written word, word in action (=performing art), captured word (=film, photo, paint), and spoken/sung word. When it came to supporting one another, everyone gave so freely. It was amazing!

Next potluck will be November 23rd!

Everyone

• Browse The Alchemist here (http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780060834838)
• Macon Library Genealogy Study (http://www.libraryjournal.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6572672)
  

• Brooklyn Arts Council (www.brooklynartscouncil.org)
• So Live Arts Movement (www.myspace.com/loveart)
• Mylinia.com (www.mylinia.com)
  
• Management Leadership for Tomorrow (www.ml4t.org)

As many of you already know, I've never drank alcohol. Some people very close to me have been affected by alcoholism and I see some of my friends exhibiting alcoholic patterns. Not good. Anyway, I've seen how Alcoholics Anonymous has helped some people dear to me recover and I believe that it is the best form of personal development to date. I can't think of another space where people of all different cultures, ages, and classes come together regularly to help each other achieve their goals.

Last week I attended my first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. I don't think you have to be a drinker to be an alcoholic in the same way that a person who has cancer but doesn't know that they have cancer is still a cancer victim. Since it's an anonymous space, I won't say much expect that the combination of community, storytelling, and celebration is amazing.

One of my goals in life is to end the NEED for AA (not AA itself) for our generation by creating healthy spaces for millennials to find community, share their stories, celebrate life. Every month I host potlucks at my house and that's exactly what we do. It's so simple. I don't get why "happy hours" get celebrated but Alcoholics Anonymous get stigmatized when it's spaces like happy hour that lead people to AA. Happy hour doesn't live up to its name.

I also wanted to share that I found a non-alcoholic wine made by J. Lohrs called ARIEL. What's crazy is that Steve Lohrs, one of the owners, lived next door to me when I was in Palo Alto and we shared a bottle over dinner. As you can see from the label above, it "contains less than one half of one percent alcohol by volume" so I guess I can't say that I've never drank any more.

Potluck NY#11 was filled with great people, energy, and stories. First off, the meal included lemon pepper baked chicken, greens, corn on the cob, 2 types of pastas, 3 rice and bean dishes, mangoes, grapes, and root beer floats. We want to welcome the 7 newcomers to the family!

The conversation began with the story of a NYU student of film, Tre, whose work on homelessness in downtown LA can be found here. He is considering doing his next piece on the domination of fried chicken, pizza, and chow mien in urban communities. A people without a vision will perish, but so will people who don't control their food source. Though he's the newest to Brooklyn, he's got a spot to live, however 2 ladies (who don't want roommates) are looking.

Speaking of vision, Mia is a moment master, which is my euphemism for scrapbooker. She has a growing business helping people capture their visions and dreams in a way that reminds them of the power within them each day. I have a dream that the kids get an education and thanks to sisters like Tina and Christina , I'm certain that that will happen.

Finally we got into economics. Though they aren't economist, stock brokers, or hedge fund managers, Rasheed and Paul broke it down. In sum, the economy is eff-ed up, the government could have prevented this, and now the government is taking over. Is it 1984? What would a cashless society look like? How would we relate to one another? What's the last thing you grew and ate? Perhaps the Amish people are smarter than we think.

The next potluck is Sunday, October 19th.

"There are no leftovers when you live life to the fullest."

Peace,

Potluck NY#10 was a wild success. 10 beautiful spirits came together to share stories about the A train (hint: don't sit under the map on the train), listen to unreleased music of Queen Rose, and hear a reading from a chapter in my You Can't Google Purpose book. We also discussed questions like whether non-profits were sustainable long-term, how to quit your job (#1 - Have someone to trick, #2 - Have a stash, #3...). Pole dancing (it's not the kind you think...get your mind out the gutter) and the 4 crazy cats were two other highlights of the night, but you had to be there to understand.

We want to welcome Courtenay, Rasheed, Queen Rose, Ayinde, Vicki, and Christina to the potluck family. That makes 56 potluckers!

The menu consisted of apricot glazed chicken, homemade potato salad, corn on the cob, homemade apple strudel, root beer floats, rice with lentils, plantain, fresh vegetables, and chips with mango salsa.

If you know any A-train stories, have an apartment opening near you, know of teachers who want to take their kids to Broadway shows, or want something to hear some great music on Tuesday night (see details below), hit up the appropriate person below.

The next potluck will be on Sunday, September 21st.

Wishing you a pot-of-luck.

Potluck NY #09 was hot!...literally.

All that positive energy is that little living room made summer feel like sauna. The two little fans couldn't blow out our flame.

The hottest fans were us, the newest fans of upcoming 16-year-old MC, H.A.C.K. (of all trades). Check him out at www.myspace.com/hack2303. H.A.C.K. shared his passion as a young artist and his desire to link with producers who were about making original music. He blessed us with an a cappella version of his song "What I am".

Speaking of what I am, who were were as group could be defined by these words: investment banking, Brooklyn, MTV, fashion, MBAs, entrepreneurs, grad students, rappers, writers, Sugar Bar, real estate, Bronx, high school student, producers, hedge funds, Mark Echo, Bay Area, filmmakers, philosophers, academians. With 8 newcomers last night, the New York potluck family has grown to 50 people in 9 months. We're catching you Palo Alto ;)

The conversation flowed into making money with friends and how to not let money get in the way. The wisdom of crowds says put it in writing, make sure to put the company's mission first, determine what needs to get done short-term and long-term and let people self-select out if they can't honestly uphold their fair share.

The feast consisted of baked chicken with cream of mushroom sauce, brown and white rice (no discrimination here...it's all love), veggie tofu with broccoli, and greens. For dessert, we had strawberry ice cream popsicles.

The free book exchange had some Malcolm Gladwell, Eckhart Tolle, and SunTzu, among others.

It looks like the next potluck might have to be outside at a park...That would be new...and nice.

Potluck
The easy alternative to happy hour
Cool people doing cool things
Inspiration at your dinner table

The 5 Forces that Unite People Most

1. Spiritual Exploration
Last Monday, Oprah and Eckhart Tolle united over 700,000 from 139 countries to discuss spirituality and purpose. This was arguably the most diverse spiritual conversation ever to take place with the exception of life itself. Whereas Sunday morning may be one of the most segregated times in the wold as people pursue their difference branches religion, Oprah is going straight to the root through exploring spirituality for the next few Mondays at www.oprah.com.

2. Emotional Movements
I am not a concert goer, but I know that hip hop has transcend culture and speaks to the hearts and souls of many. The way artists weave words together to speak directly to our personal life experiences and emotions is amazing. Books (ie The Alchemist, The Secret) and films (ie The Matrix) have had the same kind of impact by telling a single story that millions identify as their own.

3. Physical Nourishment
We've all got to eat, so food is a great way to unite people. I just went to a Thai restaurant called Song in New York. It was a great vibe. The food was great, the price was right, and the crowd was diverse. They has a DJ that played old school hip hop while you ate. And of course, you know I host monthly potlucks at my home which bring together people from all walks of life to share and learn from one another by seeking to nourish people physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

4. Goals in Groups
Alcoholics Anonymous is perhaps the world's best personal development organization, helping over 2 million alcoholics heal worldwide. Last November, I attending an AA Thanksgiving celebration at one of their meeting places and it was amazing to see people of different classes, cultures, ages, genders, and sexual orientation come together to heal one another. AA and its sister organizations like Gambler's Anonymous show me that personal development is not personal.

5. Life & Death Situations
Though they aren't the healthiest circumstances to unite around, life and death situations bring people together. The impending threat of global warming is requiring that the everyone work together to change our consumption patterns and lifestyles. If we don't, we die. Whether we like it or not, the Universe will always push us toward unity, for unity is programmed into its design.

Do you have any other ideas...

6. Soccer 7. Higher Education 8. The internet 9....?

I pray for the United State of the World.

Saturday, June 16, 2007
Memorial Auditorium

First and foremost, I want to thank Spirit for giving me this message to share with you tonight. Secondly, I would like to thank the Black Graduation committee for giving me the opportunity to address you. It is an honor to be before my community. The title of my speech is “The Spirit of Potluck”.

Life is a three-course meal. We must always remember to feed the mind, body, and soul. The developmental stages of life often lead us to only focus on one source of nourishment at a time. As children we only worried about physical nourishment, as students we tend to focus on mental nourishment, and as we age our focus shifts to the Spirit. As graduates, we are all entering a vulnerable stage of life where physical nourishment is assumed, learning typically slows down, and spirituality tends to declines. I am here today to remind you that at each stage of our lives, we need a balance of all three.

The first course of tonight’s meal are the physical foods; they include fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats. I’m sure that this weekend has been a time of feasting and celebration with family and friends for all of us. Whether your plate consisted of traditional Southern cuisine; Jerk Chicken, Rice, Beans, and plantains; ogbono soup with yams, or tibs and injera, all of the traditions of the African Diaspora revolve around food. Soul food, as we call it in the African American community, isn’t something that you buy; soul food is something that we co-create together as we take foods in their rawest form and put love and energy into them to make a meal. Like our ancestors, we must seek to restore an intimate relationship with Mother Nature and the land that abundantly gives us these gifts, for no matter how many college graduates sit before us today, a community can never be totally free when it lacks the basic knowledge of how to feed itself.

Our second course consists of our mental food; it comes in the form of wisdom and knowledge, the byproducts of elders, experience, and education. For the past few years, our minds have been ignited by this stove called higher education. In the same way that food is prepared, school has served as one way of mentally preparing us for service to the world. Similar to how the degree of temperature affects the state of food during preparation, our degrees have the power to affect how the world receives us. We must each ask ourselves, when my life is fully digested by my children and community and all that remains of me is dirt, what lessons do I want them to harvest from the seeds of truth that I planted and cultivated with my life? Culture is the remnant of the lessons learned by all those who came before us; it is an iterative process that shapes us while we simultaneously shape it. Thus, if life has taught you something valuable, let the way you live your life serve as an example of how deeply you believe what you claim to believe. Integrating truth into our daily lives is the best way to transmit wisdom from generation to generation.

Spirituality is not only the third course of tonight’s meal, but it is the main course. Our spiritual food comes in the form of prayer, ritual, song, and worship. It is no secret that African people are among the most spiritually-rooted people in the world. Our community is multi-faith; we play significant roles in the Christian, Muslim, Rastafarian, and Religious Scientist communities. Regardless of what you believe, I pose this challenge to you. Ask yourselves, if I achieve all of my financial goals in life, what will I seek next? Whatever “that thing” is, be it God, purpose, knowledge of self, love, etcetera, I encourage you to seek “that thing” first. Centuries ago, a great spiritual teacher encouraged us by saying “seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you as well” (Matt 6:33). My time here at Stanford has shown me that my Spirit is healthiest when I am in relentless pursuit of my god-given purpose.

The theme of this year’s Black graduation is unity without uniformity. Here at Stanford, we are in a melting pot of people, cultures, and ideas. In melting pots, the ingredients do one of two things; they either blend in and assimilate with more dominant ingredients or they stand out and add a distinct texture or flavor that make the final dish memorable. Will you and I conform or will we preserve our character and culture while simultaneously engaging with the rest of the world?

As people of African descent, the original women and men of the world, we are the host of this global banquet yet we are 100s of years late to our own feast. Our guests have already arrived and are awaiting us with their unique contributions in hand. What will we bring to this potluck? Or will we be empty handed?

To the graduates, I pray that each of you sees your degree as an invitation to the world table and humbly accepts the call on behalf of all African people and the advancement of humanity. We are who the world is waiting for. What will we contribute to the world table?

Thank you.

Purpose

The purpose of potluck is to create a space for people to connect with one another and to heal and be fed physically, mentally, and spiritually. We are a random group of people who seek to come together to break bread in the name of love.

Time

7:00pm - Mingle

7:30pm - Bless the food and eat

8:00pm - Storytelling: Each person gets 5 minutes to share:

1. Where am I in life?
2. Where do I want to go? and
3. What do I think I need to get there?

After each person shares, the group asks the person and itself

4. What can I/we do for you?

9:30pm - Information exchange

The next morning, an email goes out to all participants recapping the night with a contact list and action items attached

Locations

1. Palo Alto, CA monthly | Email Kalonji for more info
2. New York, NY monthly | Email Jullien for more info
3. Cornell University | Just started!!!
   
4. Your home!
   

• your authentic self
• a dish to contribute (for 4 people)
• love
• a smile, and
• another person if you would like

• The Host: prepare the space, send out invites
  
• The Greeter: usually the first person, greet people at the door
  
• The Cleaners: stay after to help the host clean up