do you think you were born conscious do
you think that you were taught how to be
conscious do you think your life is the
quest or do you think your life is the
answer do you think you are going with
the flow or do you think you know how to
be the flow these are just thoughts
poetic thoughts okay I need for y’all to
close your eyes cause some clothes I’m
closing let go of everything you heard
today don’t forget it don’t forget it
don’t forget it just let it go let it go
let it go let go let go of the
anticipation of what you’re about to
hear let that go forget about that think
about pivotal times in your life think
about how you can define the word pivot
if you have yet to pivot and before I go
any further I’m going to show you a
video yeah so we’re just talking about
pivot and how we all have had to pivot
in life and how we define pivotal
moments just say it out loud and I’ll
we inflate what do say inflection point
now I need some more words
so to keep the thing going if y’all have
a word I need for y’all to yell it out
and who said that good lawyer you ready
you stay pivoting huh okay and I y’all
can keep going to thrust thrust thrust
voice okay maybe like five more all
right all right so before I’m gonna read
the poem but let me just tell you a
little bit about myself you know my
pivotal times so I grew up in Maryland
my dad was studying molecular genetics
so he was always in the lab testing
stuff out and I realized you know like
he doesn’t know he can’t predict many
things outside of researching them and
gathering information so I think I was
like four years old and I think I was
about four and I always you know would
ask them hey what does this mean you
know like what is the amygdala
what does DNA mean like I’m four years
old well Chris go look it up I was like
what like how where and I think right
there
this is high insight now fast for it
right there is where I learned how to
quest and not for answers just to quest
just to just to be you know to attract
it because I realized if I took your
answer then that’s it you know like
that’s the end of the quest but look how
many people are in this room that may
have another way to express it right so
I took that in mindset to college and
that’s where the challenge begin right
because I I was in the classroom where
there’s a curriculum there’s a syllabus
there’s a standard there’s a structure
there’s a way of learning and if you
can’t imitate that digest that process
that and put it back out you know you
didn’t get it so I’m sitting in class
and I’m
you know taken down vocabulary terms
studying different schools of thought
and I raised my hand and I said you know
is this is in psychology abnormal psych
is there a way to not have stress and
the teachers I know you know like we’re
all born with stress you know I believe
that was okay cool hmm I’m studying how
other people think how other people
perceive and I have yet to understand
what it means to think right so I don’t
necessarily believe you that’s your
answer so I took myself outside of class
outside of the curriculum went to the
library started studying individual
psyche I started studying Alfred Adler I
started studying John Watson behaviorism
I’m realizing that we are taught how to
behave we are taught how to act and how
to be we don’t have the opportunity to
sit and develop it ourselves and that’s
cool you know you it’s the easy way I
think so I took myself out of school for
the summer went back to Maryland I was
sleeping in my parents basement and I
don’t know if it was the TV or if it was
that what they were talking about
upstairs but I woke up and I asked
myself what do I want to do and I don’t
know if it was an image of vision what I
manifested verbally was poetry so I
wrote this poem it was called do you
like poetry and I took it I took it to
the street of Frederick Maryland now
this is a small city it’s kind of like
rapid1 Main Street where everything
happens and then little cross-sections
and I went out there I didn’t have time
to think about how to do it why to do it
what’s the purpose what does this mean I
just I was gone like I just I was in it
and so I sat there for the whole summer
and I recited the poem do you like
poetry if you were walking down the
street in Maryland Market Street I would
ask you do you like poetry do you like
poetry do you like poetry do you like
poetry do you like poetry people would
say no yes I can’t read what is poetry
how much money do you want so
I recited I recited I recited three
months like I said I didn’t think about
evolving I didn’t think about how to
transcend I didn’t think about what’s
next because for some reason those
things came so people would say hey are
you published how can I take this poem
home that you’re reciting to us on the
street
we’ll never remember it that’s okay I’m
gonna think about those so I continued
on the whole summer then I think it was
like towards the end of it this lady
from this female boutique store silk and
burlap rolled up and the Jeep Wrangler
once I hey I want you in my store
reciting your poems
I’ll pay you I’m about to get paid so I
went into her store and I saw she it was
a vintage clothing and a modern modern
furniture so I went in she had a she had
a shelf with the typewriter I said oh
you know what don’t pay me I think I was
like $100 don’t give me that give me
that typewriter so I took the typewriter
went back to the street and that’s where
I realized like people automatically
detach themselves from an experience
because they think they think that
there’s something to learn or there’s an
answer here right so they they’re just
waiting for this answer so I flipped it
I said give me something to write about
give me what you’re thinking about
giving me your vocabulary I’ll write you
your poem
so that right then and there this
connection is set right it’s
individualized so fast forward I went
back to New Orleans because there’s no
money in DC for poetry just politics and
so I went to New Orleans I had some
friends who bus which is like they play
music on the street people tip him give
him money so I started that way I
thought that that would be the way that
I can make a living I would just busk
and ask for donations because that’s
what people automatically assume so I
did that for by the way I didn’t go back
to school yeah talk about pivoting so I
went I went I went back to New Orleans
started typing people donated money I
realized I couldn’t make a living off
with donations so can I set a price was
to go in price so I started with five
dollars and I realized people like
options so I said a five and a ten
dollar poem now in my mind is no
different you know
I’ll write you whatever whatever you
want to pay I got to the point where I
was I don’t even tell me how much you
want to pay me because people are just
ready like I want to experience this I
want to pay for it and I want to move on
so I was like don’t even tell me and
then they got to the point where I
realized you know I looked to my left I
look to my right there are other poets
on typewriters that came to sit next to
me so I was okay this is cool this is
not this is not it because it has to be
something more if they get it and
there’s something more so I started
going to weddings and I started
interviewing the guests and I wrote
books about the couple’s so I write
books at the weddings to truly
encapsulate a moment so that’s what I do
right that’s that’s that once you once
you make a certain move in a direction
once you acknowledge the fact that you
can think and act simultaneously it’s
like you just move you know it’s know
they’re hand-in-hand
so as I was moving I started realizing
oh people are coming to me asking me for
help asking me how to think so I do
these workshops where people are
blindfolded and they have to talk to
somebody they don’t know for two minutes
and they have to write down what they
think the person looks like and then
they take they take the blindfold off
and they’re like oh no you’re not even
who I thought you were you know you so
it’s crazy right so then I do other
workshops where people are blindfolded
or they have to focus on what they hear
what they smell and they write poems
about that and what’s interesting about
that is if you’re isolated to just
seeing or hearing or smelling and you’re
walking down the street there’s
something that all of everyone in that
group is stimulated by so everyone will
notice one thing and I paid attention to
that right like there are certain things
that just stimulate groups of people
certain words so that’s that I’m gonna
read this poem because that’s what
really matters I may just be talking a
talk so I’ll read this poem and before I
do that Oh at this demonstration so
watch this watch this I’m stretching
right
I can’t touch my toes it’s because of
the suit right hold on there’s a lesson
we’ve decided to be stimulated by
externals and materials right to show
our value and our worth we’ve been we’ve
accepted to be stimulated that way so to
that to that stimulation in that
validation you know I actually believe I
can’t touch my toes so I’m I’m limiting
the stretch of my imagination you see
and I’m saying so I’m gonna read this
poem and I’m gonna be quiet okay so do
you all want to close your eyes or do
you just want me to read whatever you do
you do it okay
in the chaos we create it never denying
the dream we inflict a point we
successfully pursue the present by being
a gift in the chaos love travels home
the inertia of identity causes us to mix
the mistakes with the joy success is
more than happiness it’s when you can
share it’s when you can pivot the
expansion of an evolving community learn
how to be before you transcend sleepers
sell their souls by selling and not
waking up woke trust a trust of time
souls survive when they adapt to
articulation of their choice evolve to
turn around the balance of being
grounded
this keeps growth outside of the cage of
juggling the injustice of not knowing
Oh before I say thank you and poetry so
matters freedom is not the experience
freedom is not the experience freedom is
the expression of the experience cool
all right [Applause]
you think that you were taught how to be
conscious do you think your life is the
quest or do you think your life is the
answer do you think you are going with
the flow or do you think you know how to
be the flow these are just thoughts
poetic thoughts okay I need for y’all to
close your eyes cause some clothes I’m
closing let go of everything you heard
today don’t forget it don’t forget it
don’t forget it just let it go let it go
let it go let go let go of the
anticipation of what you’re about to
hear let that go forget about that think
about pivotal times in your life think
about how you can define the word pivot
if you have yet to pivot and before I go
any further I’m going to show you a
video yeah so we’re just talking about
pivot and how we all have had to pivot
in life and how we define pivotal
moments just say it out loud and I’ll
we inflate what do say inflection point
now I need some more words
so to keep the thing going if y’all have
a word I need for y’all to yell it out
and who said that good lawyer you ready
you stay pivoting huh okay and I y’all
can keep going to thrust thrust thrust
voice okay maybe like five more all
right all right so before I’m gonna read
the poem but let me just tell you a
little bit about myself you know my
pivotal times so I grew up in Maryland
my dad was studying molecular genetics
so he was always in the lab testing
stuff out and I realized you know like
he doesn’t know he can’t predict many
things outside of researching them and
gathering information so I think I was
like four years old and I think I was
about four and I always you know would
ask them hey what does this mean you
know like what is the amygdala
what does DNA mean like I’m four years
old well Chris go look it up I was like
what like how where and I think right
there
this is high insight now fast for it
right there is where I learned how to
quest and not for answers just to quest
just to just to be you know to attract
it because I realized if I took your
answer then that’s it you know like
that’s the end of the quest but look how
many people are in this room that may
have another way to express it right so
I took that in mindset to college and
that’s where the challenge begin right
because I I was in the classroom where
there’s a curriculum there’s a syllabus
there’s a standard there’s a structure
there’s a way of learning and if you
can’t imitate that digest that process
that and put it back out you know you
didn’t get it so I’m sitting in class
and I’m
you know taken down vocabulary terms
studying different schools of thought
and I raised my hand and I said you know
is this is in psychology abnormal psych
is there a way to not have stress and
the teachers I know you know like we’re
all born with stress you know I believe
that was okay cool hmm I’m studying how
other people think how other people
perceive and I have yet to understand
what it means to think right so I don’t
necessarily believe you that’s your
answer so I took myself outside of class
outside of the curriculum went to the
library started studying individual
psyche I started studying Alfred Adler I
started studying John Watson behaviorism
I’m realizing that we are taught how to
behave we are taught how to act and how
to be we don’t have the opportunity to
sit and develop it ourselves and that’s
cool you know you it’s the easy way I
think so I took myself out of school for
the summer went back to Maryland I was
sleeping in my parents basement and I
don’t know if it was the TV or if it was
that what they were talking about
upstairs but I woke up and I asked
myself what do I want to do and I don’t
know if it was an image of vision what I
manifested verbally was poetry so I
wrote this poem it was called do you
like poetry and I took it I took it to
the street of Frederick Maryland now
this is a small city it’s kind of like
rapid1 Main Street where everything
happens and then little cross-sections
and I went out there I didn’t have time
to think about how to do it why to do it
what’s the purpose what does this mean I
just I was gone like I just I was in it
and so I sat there for the whole summer
and I recited the poem do you like
poetry if you were walking down the
street in Maryland Market Street I would
ask you do you like poetry do you like
poetry do you like poetry do you like
poetry do you like poetry people would
say no yes I can’t read what is poetry
how much money do you want so
I recited I recited I recited three
months like I said I didn’t think about
evolving I didn’t think about how to
transcend I didn’t think about what’s
next because for some reason those
things came so people would say hey are
you published how can I take this poem
home that you’re reciting to us on the
street
we’ll never remember it that’s okay I’m
gonna think about those so I continued
on the whole summer then I think it was
like towards the end of it this lady
from this female boutique store silk and
burlap rolled up and the Jeep Wrangler
once I hey I want you in my store
reciting your poems
I’ll pay you I’m about to get paid so I
went into her store and I saw she it was
a vintage clothing and a modern modern
furniture so I went in she had a she had
a shelf with the typewriter I said oh
you know what don’t pay me I think I was
like $100 don’t give me that give me
that typewriter so I took the typewriter
went back to the street and that’s where
I realized like people automatically
detach themselves from an experience
because they think they think that
there’s something to learn or there’s an
answer here right so they they’re just
waiting for this answer so I flipped it
I said give me something to write about
give me what you’re thinking about
giving me your vocabulary I’ll write you
your poem
so that right then and there this
connection is set right it’s
individualized so fast forward I went
back to New Orleans because there’s no
money in DC for poetry just politics and
so I went to New Orleans I had some
friends who bus which is like they play
music on the street people tip him give
him money so I started that way I
thought that that would be the way that
I can make a living I would just busk
and ask for donations because that’s
what people automatically assume so I
did that for by the way I didn’t go back
to school yeah talk about pivoting so I
went I went I went back to New Orleans
started typing people donated money I
realized I couldn’t make a living off
with donations so can I set a price was
to go in price so I started with five
dollars and I realized people like
options so I said a five and a ten
dollar poem now in my mind is no
different you know
I’ll write you whatever whatever you
want to pay I got to the point where I
was I don’t even tell me how much you
want to pay me because people are just
ready like I want to experience this I
want to pay for it and I want to move on
so I was like don’t even tell me and
then they got to the point where I
realized you know I looked to my left I
look to my right there are other poets
on typewriters that came to sit next to
me so I was okay this is cool this is
not this is not it because it has to be
something more if they get it and
there’s something more so I started
going to weddings and I started
interviewing the guests and I wrote
books about the couple’s so I write
books at the weddings to truly
encapsulate a moment so that’s what I do
right that’s that’s that once you once
you make a certain move in a direction
once you acknowledge the fact that you
can think and act simultaneously it’s
like you just move you know it’s know
they’re hand-in-hand
so as I was moving I started realizing
oh people are coming to me asking me for
help asking me how to think so I do
these workshops where people are
blindfolded and they have to talk to
somebody they don’t know for two minutes
and they have to write down what they
think the person looks like and then
they take they take the blindfold off
and they’re like oh no you’re not even
who I thought you were you know you so
it’s crazy right so then I do other
workshops where people are blindfolded
or they have to focus on what they hear
what they smell and they write poems
about that and what’s interesting about
that is if you’re isolated to just
seeing or hearing or smelling and you’re
walking down the street there’s
something that all of everyone in that
group is stimulated by so everyone will
notice one thing and I paid attention to
that right like there are certain things
that just stimulate groups of people
certain words so that’s that I’m gonna
read this poem because that’s what
really matters I may just be talking a
talk so I’ll read this poem and before I
do that Oh at this demonstration so
watch this watch this I’m stretching
right
I can’t touch my toes it’s because of
the suit right hold on there’s a lesson
we’ve decided to be stimulated by
externals and materials right to show
our value and our worth we’ve been we’ve
accepted to be stimulated that way so to
that to that stimulation in that
validation you know I actually believe I
can’t touch my toes so I’m I’m limiting
the stretch of my imagination you see
and I’m saying so I’m gonna read this
poem and I’m gonna be quiet okay so do
you all want to close your eyes or do
you just want me to read whatever you do
you do it okay
in the chaos we create it never denying
the dream we inflict a point we
successfully pursue the present by being
a gift in the chaos love travels home
the inertia of identity causes us to mix
the mistakes with the joy success is
more than happiness it’s when you can
share it’s when you can pivot the
expansion of an evolving community learn
how to be before you transcend sleepers
sell their souls by selling and not
waking up woke trust a trust of time
souls survive when they adapt to
articulation of their choice evolve to
turn around the balance of being
grounded
this keeps growth outside of the cage of
juggling the injustice of not knowing
Oh before I say thank you and poetry so
matters freedom is not the experience
freedom is not the experience freedom is
the expression of the experience cool
all right [Applause]
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