Blackbutterfly Soul Songs

By Dr. Queen Shamala Sykes

Just like many of us, Dr. Queen Shamala Sykes was once led down the long and winding path of soul exploration as she sought deeper answers to questions like, Who am I? and What is my purpose?

Dr. Sykes, an ordained minister and a metaphysical practitioner, relies on the symbolism of the butterfly to share poetic expressions about the soul. In a five part collection, Dr. Sykes examines the meaning of the soul and shares the importance of soul awareness. According to Dr. Sykes, Using ancient wisdom and a daily practice of meditation are sure ways to connect you with your soul, your gifts and your talents.

Blackbutterfly Soul Song interlaces symbolism with poetic expressions that will help guide anyone searching for transformation and renewal to find the answers to lifes most complex questions.

Breathtaking! This book evokes the spirit of the Self and highlights the purpose of the Soul. The words of the ancestors, combined with the authors words, speak with wisdom and clarity. This book is highly recommended for taking our thoughts to a higher level of understanding. Mercedes Tidmore Brown, author of A Soul Incarcerated

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9781532025396

Dr. Queen Shamala Sykes

Dr. Queen Shamala Sykes is an ordained minister and a metaphysical practitioner who facilitates guided group meditations, spiritual counseling sessions, autobiographical writing classes and ancestral painting. She is founder of the University of Creative Light Initiation System (UCLIS) where art, writing, meditation and service are used to restore divine balance and honor the higher self. Dr. Sykes resides in Los Angeles, California.

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Copyright © 2017 Dr. Queen Shamala Sykes.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-2538-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-2539-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017909055

iUniverse rev. date: 11/10/2017

Dedication

First, a heartfelt dedication goes to my ancestors, the Creator and my soul who led me from darkness into light. This book of soul poetry is also dedicated to my grandmother Queenie Graham Miller, the Graham, Miller, Davis and Smith families and all their descendants. I honor my mother Mamie Lee Miller Davis, who was my first teacher. She encouraged my love for reading, writing, learning and soul songs. I also recognize all family members and experiences, which caused me to dig into life and daily question its activities.

A special acknowledgement goes to my daughter Chef Yealang Jarrice Odutola Fayemi Smith. I honor her for choosing me to be her mother. She has been in lockstep with me on my spiritual path from the beginning. Her birth catapulted my life into undreamed directions. Yealang made me grow up quicker into my powerful self.

I recognize my spiritual teachers and the attendant communities who participated with me in my individuated personal soul journey, especially Meri Ka Ra, Chief Priest Obafemi Ifayemi and Sensei Eugene Imai. These seekers and speakers of truth provide the instruction and motivation in my life that inform my soul journey. I salute the sistafriendqueens who claim our queenship together in sacred spaces And the beloved masculine world community who help us hold up the world!

I give thanks to Dr. Maxine Thompson, a widely acclaimed author and editor who, from the very beginning, taught me how to show and tell my stories. Attending the Saturday Literary Writing class under Lorene Calhoun’s leadership gave me the courage to take my writing public. Kudos go to Dr. Shari Randolph, who assisted me in submitting a marketable product and Mercedes Brown, who offered her head and heart to me during the whole process. I render overflowing love and glowing amazement to Sheila Shaw for her insistence that we are eternal souls-never born and never die! I am grateful for iUniverse Publishing and their editorial staff for their patience and commitment to this writing project.

Lastly, I honor Granville Arnold Hakim Ifatokoun Fayemi Sykes, my lead cheerleader, most avid supporter and now deceased husband, who made his transition July 19, 2013. I appreciate the love, encouragement and nurture we shared for eighteen years. My soul flourished in the safe, loving space where I could heal, write and paint, uninhibitedly.

Contents

Part I   What Is Soul?

Got Up

Soul Talk

Soul Journey

The ABC’s of Gratitude

Grateful

Part II   The Call to Soul Love

Love

My History with Soul Songs

Opening The Way

Blackbutterfly

The Calling

Initiate’s Song

The Higher Calling

Sankofa

The Healing Stream of Love for Sister Ruby

I Understand

FYI

Committal

Sowing Seeds of Love

ABC’s of Love (The Abecedarian of Love)

Freedom Song

Part III   Soul Awakenings

Awakening

Meditation

Childhood Memories

In Retrospect

Queendom

Let Go

Prognosis

Kujichagalia: Self-Determination

If Educate

Stop and Begin Again

Reflections

Part IV   Soul Awareness

Evolution

Meeting the Ancestors

Home at Last

Sanctuary

Gladden

Healing

Relax

Communion

Sounds of Freedom

Soul Laughing

Soul Secrets

Sun Son

Soul’s I AM’s

Nina, Girl on a String

(A note to T. C, a prize-winning writing student from Fremont High School)

Soul Daughter

Jimmy Swimmy: The Hero’s Gift

Oriki (Soul Praise Song) to Obatala