Three Jewels and the Nguzo Saba Seven Principles

Where Buddhism and Kwanzaa Meet as Tools of Black Liberation

For Black people seeking healing, the path is never only personal. Our inner lives are shaped by history, family, community, creativity, and the ongoing work of freedom. Buddhism and Kwanzaa arise from distinct traditions, histories, and cultural locations. They should not be flattened into one another. Yet when held with care, the Three Jewels of Buddhism and the Nguzo Saba—the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa—can offer complementary practices for cultivating dignity, presence, collective responsibility, and liberation.

Travis SpencerAugust 16, 2026Comment

More Than Headlines: Building Awareness and Black Pride

Recent headlines featuring young Black boys who have died or are navigating the "injustice system" remind us that the questions Frederick Douglass raised in "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" remain painfully relevant. For many Black families, these stories evoke grief, fear, anger, and uncertainty—not only about today's reality but about the future of our children.

Travis SpencerJuly 12, 2026Comment

Music as Medicine: Honoring Black Music Month Through Mindfulness

June is African American Music Appreciation Month, also known as Black Music Month. It is a time to honor the beauty, power, creativity, and global influence of Black music. From blues, jazz, gospel, country, R&B, soul, funk, hip-hop, rap, and pop to beyond, African American music has shaped the sound and spirit of American culture.

But Black music is more than entertainment. It is memory. It is testimony. It is resistance. It is a celebration. It is prayer. It is medicine.

Travis SpencerMay 31, 2026Comment

🌱 The F.L.O.W. in Spring: Awakening, Renewal, and Becoming

Spring arrives not just as a change in season, but as an invitation.

An invitation to soften, to awaken, and to remember that life is always offering us another beginning.

From the Spring Equinox through the fullness of early summer, we are guided into a natural rhythm of growth. The earth models something powerful for us—nothing forces its blooming. It unfolds in time, with intention and trust.

And so can we.

🌱Sowing the Seeds of Life: A Spring Invitation to Grow Within

Spring arrives not only as a change of season but also as a quiet invitation. The earth softens, light stretches a little longer into our days, and something within us begins to stir. It is a time of renewal, of possibility, of beginning again.

Just as the soil receives seeds that will blossom in time, we, too, are invited to plant seeds within our own lives—seeds that nourish our spirit, deepen our relationships, and strengthen our communities.

This season, we turn toward four powerful seeds: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and wisdom. Each one holds the potential to transform not only how we move through the world, but how we experience it.

Travis SpencerMarch 18, 2026Comment

We are not New to This. We are True to This: Mindfulness as a Practice of Remembrance.

We are not new to this. We are true to this.
Long before mindfulness had a name, Black and African communities practiced presence through humming, movement, song, gathering, and communion with nature. These were not techniques—they were ways of living, caring, surviving, and thriving.

This season, as winter invites us into stillness and reflection, we remember that mindfulness is not something we are learning for the first time. It is something we are reclaiming—ancestral wisdom passed down through generations, guiding us toward rest, connection, and compassionate growth.

Travis SpencerFebruary 8, 2026Comment

Where Buddhism and Kwanzaa Meet as Tools of Black Liberation

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