To Your Journey: 40 Clues to Self-Actualization

By Ahmad Daniels

Ahmad Daniels, M.Ed., has spent a lifetime in service as an educator, activist and spiritual beacon for people of color. As a civic leader, inspirational speaker and influential author and seminar leader he has changed lives for a long time. And with this book, he expands the horizon from narrower, racially-based needs to more universal, socially and culturally inclusive possibilities. Through short, easy-to-read homilies, coupled with penetrating questions and insightful exercises, he opens the door to enhanced self-realization in all people, everywhere. Although finding their origina voice in the African-American community, Daniels'"40 Clues to Self-Actualization" span the horizons of personal and cultural experience from the most basic of survival needs to the most esoteric states of self-actualization, reminding us that all of it is available to us -- if only we are willing to reach for it, honest enough to realize that we are the main obstacle between our current selves and our best selves, and open enough to recognize it and accept it in others, realizing that we, too, deserve to become the best we can be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ahmad Daniels
• Release date: Sep 18, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452483115

Ahmad Daniels

Ahmad Daniels, M.Ed., is a professional presenter, transformation facilitator, and life coach with over twenty years experience in establishing and conducting community outreach programs, diversity trainings, and academic courses in African American History. He is the founder of Creative Interchange, an organization dedicated to enhancing personal and social capital through changed philosophies, personal empowerment, and self-actualization. Both he as an individual and the organization as a community force have championed the cause of African liberation, both continental and Diasporan, for more than a quarter-century. Ahmad Daniels is also the founder of Men to Men—Heart to Heart Forums that strive to create an environment where men are encouraged and self-compelled to engage in heartfelt conversations that lead to more meaningful relationships. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from North Carolina Central University, at Durham, North Carolina, and a Master of Education degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Mr. Daniels has received numerous awards, including the “SPIRIT OF LOUISVILLE” award, presented by the city of Louisville, Kentucky in appreciation for dedicated community service. He has also served as a facilitator for two of former Governor James B. Hunt’s North Carolina “Initiative on Race” Conferences. In December of 2000, he was recognized by Community Pride, Charlotte’s African American magazine, as one of Charlotte’s 50 Most Influential Black Men. Mr. Daniels himself is most proud of his recognition, on July 4, 2001, by the editorial staff of The Charlotte Observer as a “Hero of Democracy,” and also for having played an active role in the United Nations World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in August and early September of 2001 in Durban, South Africa. Mr. Daniels also shared his considerable talents with those attending the African and African Descendants World Conference Against Racism held in Barbados from October 1-6, 2002, where he facilitated several workshops and spoke at plenary sessions. Mr. Daniels has also chaired meetings of the Global Afrikan Congress in Amsterdam, London, Berlin, Paris, and Accra. Ahmad Daniels is the author of the To Your Journey: Forty Clues to Self-Actualization for African American Men guidebook, a must-read book for anyone engaged in self-discovery and personal growth. He is still involved with many organizations—local, regional and national—and when not fulfilling his civic responsibilities, Mr. Daniels enjoys international travel and has visited Africa and Europe many times. He also spends considerable time reading, listening to classical jazz, and long-distance running—he has completed over a dozen full marathons (26.2 miles each!)—and is an avid road cyclist.

Book preview

To Your Journey

40 Clues to Self-actualization

For African America and Beyond

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Copyright 2011, Ahmad Daniels, M.Ed. All rights reserved.

ISBN Number: 978-1-4524-8311-5

Smashwords Edition

The material in this book may not be reproduced, in part or in whole, transmitted, or utilized in any form or by any electronic, photographic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or entry into any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner, except for brief quotations embodied in literary articles and reviews.

For permissions and questions about use of the materials herein in group settings, please contact CREATIVE INTERCHANGE via their website, http://www.creative-interchange.com, or in an e-mail to [e-mail]

E-Book design: OPA Author Services, Scottsdale, AZ. http://www.opaauthorservices.com

Cover design: Laughing Girl Productions

Author Photo: Laurie Garo

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Dedications

My mother, Mrs. Lossie Daniels, for her love, unwavering support, and wholehearted encouragement.

Queen Mother Dorothy Lewis, a gentle soul whose steadfast commitment to articulating and implementing transformational programs continues to serve as a blueprint for self-determination, illuminating the road to worldwide African liberation.

My sons, Malik and Michael, to whom I extend an invitation to join me in working together to raise images above the earth that reflect our capacity for greatness.

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Table of Contents

Copyright Information

Dedications

Preface

Why Self-Actualization?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

How to Use This Workbook

Biological and Physiological Needs – Clues 1-5

Safety Needs –Clues 6-15

Belongingness and Love Needs – Clues 16-25

Esteem Needs – Clues 26-33

Self-Actualization – Clues 34-40

About the Author

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Preface

"Mankind must realize that it is in need

of healing, not from the outer world,

but from within."

~ Carolyn Warfield, Author

When I quoted Ms. Warfield in my first book, To Your Journey: Forty Clues to Self-Actualization for African American Men (2003), I saw her words as particularly relevant to African American males. Ours is a history replete with experiences that have all too often resulted in dreams deferred, dashed hopes, and self-doubt. Centuries of enslavement, decades of Apartheid, and the residuals of both have wounded many African Americans in ways we continue to feel.

Queen Mother Dorothy Lewis (of the Global Afrikan Congress) and I have had numerous conversations on the need for internal transformation. On the very first day of the Global Pan-African Reparations and Repatriation Conference, held in late July, 2006, in Accra, Ghana, Dorothy and I took to the podium during a plenary session. She addressed reconciliation, and I spoke to transformation—along with the combined role both coveted conditions serve in the obtainment of global African liberation. It is in that spirit that I have adapted my earlier writing to this book, which is now aimed at achieving self-determination for African Americans of both sexes through the process of transformation; i.e., a complete change, with an improved usefulness. This book strives to create a mental, physical, and spiritual environment where the process of transformation can occur. Clues (that which bring you closer to a desired goal) are provided, as they were in my first book, with that end in mind.

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Why Self-Actualization?

While there will be some who ask, Why use the Maslow model when there are numerous Black social scientists who have written extensively on models developed specifically from observations of African Americans? The writings and spoken words of Drs. Wade Nobles, Raymond A. Winbush, Joy DeGruy Leary, Naim Akbar, Amos Wilson, to name a few, have challenged the plight of Blacks and have sparked creative ideas that have been integrated into action