Fearless Fridays - Hidden Battles
In this episode of Fearless Fridays, hosts Vanessa Lindsey and Sydney Johnson interview Xochitl Young, a Tai Chi master and self‑described "wellness architect" who has lived in Ethiopia for nearly a decade. Xochitl shares how a forced move from Oakland sparked a journey back to his ancestral roots, leading him to explore African heritage, Kemetic traditions, and somatic practices such as Tai Chi, meditation, and ritual. He explains how he integrates these practices into personal wellness and organizational health, describing a model that treats a company like a living body where every part must be nurtured. The conversation delves into the psychological baggage that diaspora members bring to Africa, the need for intentional mindset shifts, and the importance of community‑based, hands‑on work rather than short‑term tourism. Xochitl outlines practical steps for people considering relocation: deep self‑knowledge, decolonizing expectations, building relationships, and engaging in immersive retreats. He also mentions his upcoming retreat programs, contact channels (tinesu.com, email, WhatsApp), and his broader vision of creating gateways that help others transition responsibly to African contexts. The dialogue is conversational, reflective, and often enthusiastic, emphasizing personal transformation, collective healing, and the creation of sustainable, culturally rooted work environments.
Chapters
Ladies and gentlemen and gentlemen, gentlemen, welcome to Fearless Friday with your hosts Vanessa Lindsey and Sydney Johnson, empowering to live fearlessly through authentic conversations that inspire purpose and action. I'm your resident DJ, DJ Willie Wood, and I hope you enjoy the show.
You better, you better, you better.
Well, well, well, well, well. Good Friday to everybody. Listen, guys, we have a very, very special show today. As you can see, the beautiful faces that we are reflecting. Online, we have Mr. Zochi Young, the authentic, no joke Tai Chi master teacher, all the way from Ethiopia, Africa, down in the middle of Addis Ababa. The king himself, the wisdom seeker, the the the the health healer, the individual that's going to bring you out from your aches, your pains, and tell you how to become. The art of becoming master himself, Mr. Xochitl Young, along with my co-host, Miss Vannessa, the awesome, incredible Black woman, Black goddess, the whole 9 yards, woman of faith and integrity. Did I blow y'all up good enough?
You blew us up. We blew us up. We appreciate you. And, and we can't forget you, the magnificent Sydney, all the way from Oakland, California right now, by way of Cadillac.
Cadillac.
Cadillac.
No Cadillacs, girl. We are here live today and we are excited. Listen, my friend, this gentleman, before he even comes on, even starts talking, he actually gave me my first place of employment here in, um, Oakland, um, at Oakstock. Me and my sons, we all wrote— we all rotated to that area. And so it's becoming of me to just simply be humble enough to turn this floor over to the man himself. Call him— I'm coming all the way from East Africa, back and forth between Kenya and Ethiopia. The man himself, Mr. Zochi Young. How you doing, brother?
Um, fine. Thank you for the— wow, that was a fantastic introduction. I did pretty good, huh? Uh, you know, sometimes you hear your accolades and you just don't realize that's the That they're talking about you. So I try to keep it humble, and thank you very much. It's great to have this opportunity to talk about what I'm doing here and projections of what I hope to happen in the future, as well as any questions that you may have. Let's get started.
All right, all right, all right. Go ahead, Vanessa. What you got for the brother?
I'm excited because you talk about that— you mentioned that he gave you your first job and that you're now in Ethiopia. How long have you been in Ethiopia?
I've been here almost 9 years, uh, close, maybe 9 and a half. Um, my first 3 years I would be bouncing back and forth between Egypt, Kenya, and Ethiopia. And trying to make a decision. But, you know, I used to never believe that, you know, it's like making plans and God will laugh at you. But that's pretty much what happened. I had a plan, well-researched, I thought. But, you know, sometimes you don't choose the place, the place chooses you. And in that process, there's something— if you don't resist, there is something to learn about yourself and about the location that you're in, and something that you need, some piece of healing that is required in the process. So when we resist, we deny, we prevent our healing process, especially as a person that has worked here for a while and worked with expats and people who have come from the States, is that they're at, at some point, we have been conditioned.
Mm-hmm.
And in that conditioning, that we— there are parts that we don't even know of ourselves.
That's right.
We don't, you know, we just respond. And I've had the benefit from many people to share the things that they're going through and to help them restore And remember who they are. So through kinesthetic processes, through psychological somatic practices. So it's a journey, and it's one that I find great joy in, and I love what I do. So that makes it easy. to face one's challenges.
So what made you decide to take this journey? Now, you said you went to— you were in 3— went to 3 different places. What made you decide to take the journey from America to Africa?
Well, that's a good question. I've always wanted to come to Africa, right? But I, I've had— I've worked in technology for years. And so no time seemed to be right. But the time I made the decision is that I was working in the Bay, and my landlord helped me make my decision because, you know, I really loved where I was at. And then he one day said, well, I'm going to move everybody out and I'm going to start all over.
Hmm.
And, you know, I had money in my pocket and I was like, am I going to hunt for another place or I'm gonna just go to Africa? And that opportunity, uh, got me leaving the— and then I had some conversations with people on the continent, but that was like the linchpin of taking something that seemed to be negative and turning it into a positive, right?
Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, yeah. And so did you feel— so what made you— so when you said, look, I'm up, I got money, I no longer have my place, did you feel this connection with Africa? Had you been feeling it all along, saying, okay, this is what— because you could have went everywhere. I know that we as Black or African Americans, we always say, hey, we're going back to Africa. But did you ever think, hey, maybe I'm not gonna go to Africa, maybe I'll go to someplace else? Was it always inside of you to say, look, I'm going back?
Well, fortunately, that's a double-edged one. Yes, simply that I was definitely going, uh, to go to the continent just to, um, remember who I am and my ancestry. Fortunately, my family, especially my grandmother and my mother, provided a certain level of ancestral wisdom and knowledge which made me hungry to go to Africa. And then on the second side of that, I had traveled 2/3 of the globe. Only place I hadn't traveled to any extent—
Was Africa?
No, it was— I had actually— I hadn't traveled to Europe and had no desire to travel to Europe. It was, you know, I was like, I had practiced the arts, I had many teachers and many people that Had influenced me, and you know it's just like. But I have roots, and so to I needed to tap into that. What what was that narrative? And other than like, oh, this is your DNA. DNA only tells you where a segment of that DNA exists today. It doesn't tell you the narrative. It doesn't give you the history of where your people came from, their journey, and where they are today. And so to get hung up in the DNA, that was, you know, my grandmother taught us that we are part of our history and history wisdom was from Kemet. And so I wanted to tap into that, learn more. And growing up, when you turn 13, you got a Kemetic name. That was just a tradition. So there were seeds being planted— excuse me— throughout my life and through my education that told me this was the place to be.
So I love it. And Sydney, you know you can interrupt me anytime because, you know, I always come up with some questions because I—
because, yeah, I got questions, but go ahead.
Okay, um, so you said I, I had— I went back to remember who I am, and that's a question I know a lot of us ponder, and I know I ponder here in the United States. Who am I? Who was I before I came here? Who was I before I came down to Earth? And then who was I before my ancestors came over here? Or who would I have been? Were you able to get some of those answers once you got over there? And since you've been there for 7 years?
Yes and no. I mean, when you, when you ask the question, you don't always get what you think you're going to get. Right? And, you know, if— so take my family's history. My family actually was from East Africa, um, and in the 7th century, uh, yeah, 7th century, when the Arabs came into Sudan, Kemet, um, uh, and started To take over, my people left and crossed, went across the continent, and they amalgamated with and learned shared experiences until right now, you know, the Igbo and the Beneleke. in Cameroon is, you know, that's the DNA. But the experience that they have is that there is so much knowledge on the continent, not from one source, and it was— it's all been integrated over a period of time. So to define— to even try to define myself as this The thing is, is I'm African. I'm African and I'm African at heart. And no label, no tribe is defining me. We— I am becoming something new because I've had the experience of being in the U.S. My, you know, my political home as an African is in the U.S. So I have That, that goes along with this. So becoming is not going back and say, for me, going back and identifying myself with a particular group of people. It's going back and getting the ancient wisdom and knowledge of how things were done and learning from those processes that I can become. a greater individual than what I am.
Okay, that's good. I love that because people ask me all the time, they're like, well, Vanessa, tell me about yourself. I said, I can't, I can't tell you about myself. I said, because who I was yesterday is somebody totally different than I am today, because I should have learned something yesterday that changes me for today. So each day I'm growing and I'm different, so I can't tell you who I am, right? You know, because it changes. And so that's kind of what I'm hearing you say. Right. And so we're constantly changing and evolving because we should be growing, right? And some of us are not. Some of us may be, um, losing a lot of who we are, but we're still changing. That's still a change. It may not always be for the better, but we're still changing. So I love that you say that.
Yeah, the thing is, is that, um, part of wellness and well-being is having the capacity and the vision to see who you want to become and create an environment that allows you to become that.
Yes.
Right? And so if I say I'm a particular group of people, it puts me in a framework that in order to keep that definition, then I have to follow something that may not work anymore or may not be where we want to go in the future. What does— you know, I've been a— when I was 13, I had an epiphany, and it's been, I guess, my mission ever since. And that was, is that Why do we keep repeating the same lessons over and over again? And when will we evolve into the, the individuals that we were born to be?
Mm-hmm.
And you find that theme throughout Africa, through the Yoruba, through the Igbo, through Kemet, that when we're born in the world, we have a A destination.
Yes.
We, we have a thing that we're supposed to do, and that's the wisdom, that no, we're not born to be what the world is shaped. We actually have a purpose, and we have to find that purpose and then activate it and then bring along the new generations. That's what our, our, our Parents and grandparents and those who came before us did. They gave us information so we could rise, right? So yeah.
And but what happened was, I believe, is that once we came down here, we came down with a purpose. We were born with this purpose. But this world— and a lot of it was our parents, our parents, our siblings, our friends— you need to do this, stop doing that, don't do this, don't be funny, don't do that. Always told us what we shouldn't do and tried to guide us, and they tried to guide us where they felt we should go instead of allowing us to go where we needed to go. And then along the way, we forgot because we started being who they told us to be. And I always call it answer. Are you answering your calling? Because you came down here for a reason. Did you? Are you putting your calling on mute? Do not disturb. I'm busy. You know, but now we still hear it. If we just be quiet enough, we can hear that calling like you like. When you were probably so busy in Oakland doing your thing, and I'm loving my life, and I got my beautiful apartment, I have this and that, and all of a sudden it got— you were being called. But you probably heard it, but you— it wasn't— it was a little subtle. But when your apartment was gone and this was going, you're like, oh wait a minute, I hear my calling, I'm out, I'm gone. Didn't take you long to make that decision because you heard that calling, and it's like almost an instantaneous real wake up. You better wake up, don't you? It's a little— it's a lot louder now, right? And so that's what it is, but a lot of us, we don't hear it. We're like, I'm busy right now, don't disturb me.
Right, and, you know, and part of that too, from a Western lens, and that is that a lot of our infrastructure has been our infrastructure, not the infrastructure that we're raised in, has been erased. So Our parents, grandparents, and so forth gave us tools to stay alive.
Mm-hmm. That's true.
To stay alive and, and to fight, but fight smart so each generation would survive. When you look at the indigenous cultures here, those that are intact is that there is ceremony and ritual. That helps you recognize who you are and that lets you know what your purpose is. And then you're already, from beginning to end, you're already put on your path, right?
Hmm.
So the time that we waste trying to figure it all out, um, in that— what I— that, you know, that area of not being well, um, is, uh, you know, it's like, oh, okay, this is the journey, and I choose to go back to ritual. I— not necessarily ritual as it, you know, that passed down, but creating a ritual for myself. So every morning, and I tell my students this, When you wake up in the morning, instead of the rushing, is that lay in bed for a minute and say, what do I need? And then—
What do I need?
The second question, who can I get what I need from? Right? And taking the time in a mindful practice To be present when your feet hit the ground, feel them. When you're washing your hands, feel the water. When you look in the mirror, I mean, really look at yourself and imagine yourself when you were a child. Not looking at ourselves and saying, oh, this pimple here and this, I need a tuck, and so forth and so on. No. That is the work. That is the ritual that everyone can do 15 minutes in the morning before you pick up your cell phone, you read your paper. No, have your tea, have your coffee, and deliberately taste it.
Mm-hmm.
Right? Those are practices, indigenous practices, all over the world. Is that mindful remembering who we are and maintaining a presence in our body and not getting caught up in the rat race?
Yeah, I would even introduce— have a cognitive mindset that specifically here in the Western world, even more specifically in the United States, Is be aware of human engineering architects that has us totally dislocated from anything of who we originally are. Um, and I would say for, for me specifically, who we are in Christ, or even as a man, and even, even more so from where we came from.
Mm-hmm.
Because Most of us don't. We wasn't bought up with the understanding of where we came from. We was bought up with the immediate of where we're at. And then the where we at has not always been, in majority of our lives, the pleasant, the pleasantry of what I can become or what I really am, because we pushed into the architect of the engineering of society. You do this, you do that. Don't think this way, don't think that way. I mean, even in our present administrative— administration, if you will, trying to take away history, trying to manipulate the, the people, lets you know that the rat race is an engineered maze.
Mm-hmm.
To go into Africa and spend time. I'm not talking about 10 days. I'm not talking about not even a whole month. I mean time.
Of course.
I had the opportunity to spend time, and when I spent time, like you said, Xochitl, a newness came above me. I remember being in Mombasa after being in Kenya for maybe a month and a half. I was in Mombasa. Um, a young lady took me down to that because I was asking where the beach is, and I was in Entwapa, which is sitting on, um, on the street level right where I was. It's by the beach, but they have to walk me through the maze of the village all the way to where the water receded, where the trees, the palm trees was coming out of the water. And they sat me down, ordered me something to get, something to drink. And I just started looking, really looking, not just seeing, but I'm not just looking, excuse me, but actually seeing where I was at. And it wasn't the visuals where I was looking at, it was spiritually where I was at.
Mm.
And I kid you not, I will never— I spoke this many times to people that I tell about my personal journey, was I felt a complete weight lifted off the back of my shoulders where I was so pressurized. You touch them, I go like this, coming from where I came out of. And at the time, I was just retiring. I was 3 days later after I Retired from the U.S. Army, I was sitting in Kenya.
Beautiful.
A month and a half later, it took me to start walking into myself, and, and I was trying to rediscover Sidney. I mean, because I lost that guy. People say, how do you lose yourself? Through the maze, the matrix, the engineering, um, being called something other than Sidney, being called something internally. You know, and I never forgot when that came off my shoulder and I was able to relax. And at that point in time, I didn't care about nothing but that because everything else I had put together architect-wise in the States was still working. My kids was okay, blah blah blah. My son, even when I called him, talked to him, I'd been in Kenya for 2 months, and by that time I had already crossed borders in Tanzania. He says, Are you coming home? Because people say that, you know, they go somewhere, they'd be back in 10 to 14 days before you know you're back in the rat race. I was like, yeah, I imagine so. But I didn't even— I stopped even going to the rearranging my flight because I bumped my ticket back twice. After the third time, I looked at the people I was working with, the king I was working with. I said, I guess I'm here with you now because I ain't rebooking. I ain't even trying to rebook. I'm not even trying to postpone or nothing. I'm here.
Wow, that's, that's amazing. What is that? That had to feel like something because everything— you didn't plan on living there, you just planned to visit.
And it became an instant decision right there, literally in the midst, because I was, I was up in the Uplands. It's called the Uplands. It's past, um, Kakuyu. It's going to the Upland area of Kenya. Um, for those who know the area, it's past the GSU— not GSU, it's past, um, 87, going down past 87, Kino, then you start hitting up in the uplands. And I was there with 2 ladies that I was doing child rescue with, and the 3rd one who came from Uganda, um, Xochitl, and she was a master organic farmer. That's why we have to talk about that.
Yes, ma'am.
She's sitting out there in Jinja area and whatnot, right? And, um, another subject, another time. But, um, I was sitting at an orphanage, and what took me to that, that orphanage Was 2 of the girls we had rescued had been— they were sisters, but they was pregnant. So we couldn't leave them in their natural state where they was in the Maasai land. We had to pull them out and take them to Kikuyu land where no one know where they would be at. But going there, that time I was there, I had defined— or my definition of my purpose had came to me at that moment. When I was about to pick up the phone and try to rearrange another flight, I said, "Where am I flying back to and for what? To do what with who? To what?" Bills was on automatic. House number thing had somebody living in my house. The kids was fine. One person I was really worried about at that time was Christopher because he was still living at the house and in high school. But um, I remember that. I said, this is my place. And I always said, Xochitl, that Africa is my, my medicinal healing place.
Wow.
I can't get that here because here in the States all I feel is the anxiety of the continuous pressure and the continuous lie.
Oh, see, you're gonna make me have to go back to Africa and try it again.
The continuous lie.
Yeah.
Well, you know, the one, one of the principles of, uh, Well, one of my beliefs and one of the reasons— another reason that I'm here on the continent is that you can't heal where in the same place that is constantly creating systems that make you unhealthy.
Mm-hmm.
Right? No matter how well you try. One of the things that, you know, it's like every place has had the experience But I remember working with several groups and organizations that where people would go to retreats, they feel great, you know, do a 2-week retreat, and within a week they're ready to kill somebody. All right, it's not that they didn't have the skill sets, but they're being bombarded by all these systems to keep them ill, right? And so place and space do have an important role. It's like I was talking to one of my mentors when I first came to Africa, and he says, well, how do you feel about it? I said, it felt like my DNA just got re— Reconnected. Charged and regenerated because I found I had more energy. I was more aware. It's like this is the birthplace. And so we lose touch of who we are. I always tell a story of when I was working in tech, Um, there was a period of time that I had amnesia. I was walking through the world as a zombie.
Mm-hmm.
I would go to work, I would get my tasks done, and I would come home. And in that period of time, I didn't— I had no consciousness of who I was.
Right.
I was— I had a job, I did the job, and I, you know, went back to that cycle. So, um, forgetting who we are and what our purpose in life and what, um, motivates us is very important. And if you don't have a community that supports that, it's easy to lose yourself. In the park, right?
Or never find yourself again, right? Or never find yourself. And, and that's powerful because we have gotten so lost in— like we talk about the trauma. I'm gonna— I'm just gonna use trauma. You really can't heal in the same place where the trauma happened to you at, right? Where you were stripped of everything. And in— I want to just pivot a little bit because part of that stripping that we have that's been taken away from us is our health and wellness. What do we eat? How do we eat? What should we be eating? How should we be taking care of ourselves? And you are the Wellness Architect. And so I would love for us to talk a little bit about that Wellness Architect as it pertains to your life, how you got to being the Wellness Architect, and what does that look like when you're out of the U.S. for 7 years?
Um, fortunately I've always, you know, it's like sometimes you're on the path and you don't know you're on the path. So I became a vegetarian/vegan at 18. I was influenced by someone that I really cared about, and they helped me make that transition.
At 18?
At 18.
Wow. I don't know how old you were, but I'm gonna say back in the day.
Yeah, back when it wasn't—
Because your hair looks like mine underneath the scarf.
Yeah, I mean, I mean, I can, you know, so from there, because I always had a practice, a movement practice, so, um, I practiced martial arts, uh, hard style martial arts and so forth, um, Shaolin and so forth and so on, and meditation and so forth, even when I was like 12, 14.
Mm-hmm.
I was reading books on philosophies and ideologies, meditation, Zen, African traditions. And like I said, our family themselves had a tradition that taught us to be— we had symbols all around us that reflected back at us of the principles and practices that we needed to do.
Oh my gosh, that's amazing because sometimes I think about when you talk about those symbols and practices that in the United States and in a lot of the churches and things that we got involved in here, when we see those symbols and practices, like that's voodoo, don't touch that. That's bad, don't touch that. But you grew up with that and having that and Now, how many of us wish we had it and it was not taboo and we were forced to get rid of it because it was such a horrible thing?
Yeah, that, you know, it's like that happens even on the continent, um, that sometimes we don't understand. So my family practice, uh, Well, at least my grandmother taught me the Kemetic practices. So we had statues of Nefertiti in every house, right? We had the wings of Ra over the doorstep. Know thyself. We, you know, it's like we were in a nurturing environment of knowledge, arts and wisdom. And even before Black history became Black history in the school system, my grandparents were already teaching us Black history. So having those foundations, uh, and you know, at the time when you're young, you go, okay, I gotta do this, I don't want to do this, um, but it had a, a Getting back to the original question, it had a profound impact on what I was doing. So as I was traveling the world, what I started doing is collecting best practices. So when I went to Malaysia or I went to— I lived in Japan for 10 years— is collecting back best practices. How do we be better? How do we be better?
How do we be better?
Right? And so in that process, you know, then, you know, I'm still, you know, it's like I'm still looking. And then you find those practices, and I've, you know, collected them over the years. And I've seen how the successes— for example, being in Japan for 10 years, and the time that I was there, The practice of wellness and work went hand in hand. When people went to work, they went to work and they exercised together. That was before they even got in the office or whatever. They exercised together. That developed a sense of camaraderie that the movement— you go to China, The people were doing Tai Chi.
Every morning.
Every morning. So, and then after they got finished doing the exercise, they would— each one would get in a work group from the most senior person to the junior person. So in that process, they kept the knowledge within the group. So when that person retired, they had already trained the young person. They already had the knowledge of how things are done. They understood the workings and the people in the organization, you know. So—
Wow.
Finding those best practices and then later on being able to teach those best practices practices to organizations and corporations, we're looking at the organization as a body and that the workforce, the people that work there, are elements or pieces of the body. So you got a leg, you got toes, and so forth and so on. They don't work independent.
No. Yes.
And if one piece is broken, it's going to impact the rest of the body. So just like I said, you know, I have been on this road for a long period of time, formal and informal education in, uh, this field, and constantly asking questions, constantly, uh, challenging myself, and in the process what people call doing Shadow work is really looking at yourself and what is, what is prohibiting me from my successes? What have I learned that has kept me alive but no longer serves me? So, though, you know, those are just, you know, some of it. And then when I went to Sri Lanka, I had this— I don't know, I still don't know what to call it. That I was doing Tai Chi in Sri Lanka, I was in the forest, I was alone, and it wasn't I that was moving, it was— I was a part of a holistic cosmic universe that was moving. And that just pushed me over the edge and said, okay, this is what I want, this is what I need to do.
So it's like you've been a lot— you've been in a lot of places that have helped shape you and to make the decisions of who you are, but finding yourself along the way, all these different places. That's beautiful. And so the wellness of architects, so it goes far beyond what I eat. So I'm hearing you talking, can you talk a little bit about that?
So, you know, it's like you, at some point, you have to define yourself and Separate yourself from all the noise, and my parents always said, "Well, you're going to be an architect," and you know I went that route. I went to school for two years in architecture, eventually switched over to design. But what does an architect do? An architect looks at understanding. Understands the environment, make sure that it's safe, provide a system that is healing. When you walk into a building and— and Sydney can testify to this— we used to work in a building that when people walked in the building, they wanted to live in it because immediately—
Yeah.
It felt good, right?
It felt good.
So if we create spaces for wellness, and then we create curriculum and pedagogy and safeness and fearlessness to be in places that challenge us, That's what a wellness architect does, is look at the situation and how can we create space, place, and content that will— is engaging, immersive, and transformative.
Nice. And so you, so you're doing that over in Africa, but then also I heard you say that you've come back to the United States and teach Others, are they sure to— and that would be the wellness architect within their organizations or their families?
Well, for organizations, so right now, you know, I'm looking to pass on the wisdom that I've collected over a number of years. So I'm looking at right now trying to develop individuals to carry on what I pioneered. But when I'm working with organizations, then, you know, I'm, you know, it's like usually organizations come to you when they start having problems, right? There's trust issues, management versus the normal workers, right? And so how do you heal this space? So, and that starts from the top. working down. So it's really changing, or I think more popular in the United States, it's decolonizing the model of work.
Oh, talk about that.
Well, basically, the work model is a colonized method. You have They see the worker who works for less as expendable, right?
Mm-hmm.
And so that worker has a certain amount of value. And how can— and then we work people to a point that they get sick. I've seen this over and over again. You know, it's like even in management, People work themselves to a point that they get sick and don't realize why they're sick. The stress and tension is the linchpin for illness.
Yes.
And so to be able to resolve those issues and develop systems that make people happier and healthier.
Nice. Yeah. That starts too with the individual person realizing their value and their worth, that their body and their worth is worth more than that job. It's worth billions of dollars. To work within the organization, but then each individual has to come with some type of self-worth.
Well, or you can develop— it's like what we call teamwork.
Mm-hmm.
Is that if, uh, as an individual we come and maybe we don't have the self-worth. Uh, uh, I'm— I was talking to a young lady I'm about to hire as, uh, one of my assistants, and she put her value in as a money signal. I am worth this amount of money, and My look at it is, is that you're worth more than what you're asking for, but it has nothing to do with money, right? So, you know, what you bring to, um, you know, because, you know, what we end up doing is selling our skill sets.
Mm-hmm.
To the highest bidder and not really valuing them until we become entrepreneurs or Something, uh, we don't understand the value that we bring to organizations. So when we barter, we barter for cash.
Yes.
Right? But what about time off? Uh, what about work days at home? Um, time, you know, it's like that's more worth than the money, because if you're sick, you're not going to spend that money, or you're going to spend it— you're going to spend it in the hospital somewhere.
Yeah.
So, or you don't— you know, you, you know, you're sick, you can't even enjoy the money you've made, right? Exactly.
Yeah, because you're still stressed. So, you know, there's a psychology to that process of what is our worth. You know, we— are we trading services for cash, or are we investing our experience, knowledge, and skills to build something together?
Right.
And typically, uh, we're just trading our services for money so we can buy the, the things that we think we want.
Mm-hmm.
But we're not building anything. So if you get laid off, then you're starting from scratch all over again. What have you built for yourself? And that's the process of decolonization, is that when you have people at the top that are making these outrageous salaries and you're, you know, you're work— you're doing the grunt work And but you're not getting a piece of the lion's share, right?
Right. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Wow, that's powerful. So what is it that there's so many people that want to leave America and go over to Africa? What advice would you have? Because I've heard— I don't know, I know, I'm sure you've, you've seen many people leave here, go to Africa, don't make it, end up coming back.
Well, I think—
How have you been able to survive 7 years?
So the first thing is you got to do your work, right? Uh, which is you don't know what you don't know, right? If you've lived in the United States or Europe, or you have picked up habits and, um, behaviors that I can tell you a story of when I was in— I was teaching a workshop and had 2 men in the workshop. One, he was saying that he was always angry, always angry in rage, right? In rage. And he didn't know where it came from, but he was always angry. And the other one told me a narrative of that when he first went to Africa and he's coming through the airport and this policeman was looking at him and he kept on looking at him and inside he was saying, why is this policeman looking at me? We can put that story together from being in the US. Why is he looking at me? It's like, I haven't done anything. Why is he— so he's getting furious inside. And then the young man came to him and says, Dada, please take a seat and relax. Right? Whole different story.
Yeah.
So we're carrying this baggage with us.
Mm-hmm.
That we haven't recognized or haven't dealt with. So that's one barrier. And then we're carrying, like, values, you know, okay, if I come from the US and I got a lot of money, I can get things done faster, so forth and so on. And we forget, this is a lesson that we should have learned during— with the— The Black Star ships when going to Libya is that we had a class of people who hadn't done work on for in themselves going through slavery and so forth and so on that went to Libya, and then they saw themselves better than the people, and then created another class. of workers, right?
Mm-hmm.
Which now they were at the quote-unquote top of the scale. So we— there's lots of lessons that we need to learn from history, and not just that history happens, but underneath it, what was the impact of that, that situation which threw Libya in turmoil for a number of years? Right?
Yes.
Libya was considered— is one of the— Libya, yeah, was one of the countries that had never been colonized, Ethiopia and Libya. But in a sense, Libya, because of— had been impacted by the first African Americans that left the country and hadn't done the work. So, you know, like I said, there are lots of lessons about wellness. And, you know, it's like a person that is a leopard in a leopard colony raising a kid that's not a leopard. That kid doesn't know that they're not a leopard because they're right in the leopard colony.
Yeah.
So, you know, that those Those are things about wellness we really have to really examine who we are and look at some of the behaviors that we have acquired and then make a change. And that's not a— I wish I could say it was an easy process, but it's not.
No, it's not.
And then the second part is like, We have been conditioned as individuals. So if I have money and so forth, I'll come and I say, I really want to build a school, or I want to build a hospital. We don't look for people that can help us. We just do it ourselves.
Right.
I think we're going to come over there and change things without Talking to people. I've heard people say, I'm gonna go over there and I'm gonna take— bring all this food and cook and stuff like that. It's like, that's what— that's what made us sick. Why would we want to take it over there?
Exactly.
To show them how to eat when we're killing ourselves with— so yeah, so when you talk about doing the work, so do you help people, um, when they want to come over there to help them prepare, do some of the work, give them an idea? Do you have a book? Do you have any resources that they could like say, before you come over here, This is what you need to really work on, not just getting your shots and find a place to live, but there's— you need to do some deep work, wellness work, that they can buy a book of yours or some other type of resources that can help them along the way.
Well, it is in, um, it's, it is a service that I offer. Like I said, I have done workshops in Ghana in particular, in a couple of here. Um, but what I found is that, you know, so for— I'm gonna give you a model. So like in Israel, if you want to go to Israel, you, you go through a process of becoming— you learn the language, you learn the mannerisms, you get partnered with someone, they can teach you And then that eases you into the society. When you're coming to Africa, there's no such system.
But that's a system you're going to create for us, huh?
Well, that's what I'm—
like I said, you're talking about the ease in.
I just need to have people, you know, it's like getting a team together that shares the vision and loves the work, which is really, really important. And that takes a while, right? Because, you know, people are struggling. They want to get their pockets filled and take care of the basic needs. But there's a mindset. There's the worker that just wants to go and do something for an amount of hours and get money, bottom line. And then there's the dreamer.
Mm-hmm.
that sees a better world. And to get those dreamers to collaborate and build together as a collective, that's the hard part.
Right, right. And so do you think that for people that's exiting America or any other country going over there, that we can start getting prepared for that mindset prior to coming over there? Because we don't have that mindset prior prior to coming over there. Because unfortunately, I believe, and I could be wrong, a lot of the mindset that's— that I've seen around people is that they're going over there to make a difference. I'm going over there to make a difference versus I'm going over there because this is what I need. And so we're so— I'm gonna better the world versus the world starts within us, and we look everywhere else outside the world except for within ourselves.
Yeah, I, I Um, that this question has come up with to me for many times, and I think about in Australia, um, the Aborigines have the Dreamtime where they're dreaming together.
Hmm.
And I don't know, I mean, you know, I, I wish I said I had all the answers, but But I don't. That's the process of learning. I don't know how to create that atmosphere because, you know, when you're coming from someplace that is sick and you're trying to escape it, you're not doing that work.
No, you're not.
You're used to a particular way of being, a particular lifestyle. You know, it's like I have a 3-bedroom house that looks, you know, it's great, but sometimes we don't have water, right?
Yeah.
Sometimes, you know, we don't have lights. That is the— that's a different rhythm than we're used to. And when those things happen, We can either reject them and say, oh, I'm going back, or the road is not finished, or you get flooding and so forth and so on. This is a time— that's a time to pull together, but you have to have the mindset for that.
Right.
Right? You have to have a practice of teaching those principles so when You find yourself in this situation, you can do something different than what you would normally have done.
Yeah.
So it's a process, and I— and, and that takes me into the movement practice that, you know, I'm— is the integration of, uh, tai chi and other movement practices, as well as philosophies and principles and indigenous ways of being that pays attention and having intention in everything that you do.
Mm-hmm.
And so you use a physical practice to start opening the gateway. It may just seem like, oh, I'm moving, I'm doing this, but there's a teaching underneath that where what— when I'm teaching, I'm also giving The students' affirmations to connect with the movement. So, for example, Sydney knows that, you know, it's like when we're doing the practice of fearlessness, making an invitation for what is needed in my life. You got to make that invitation to the universe. You, you have to do the work, so you have to move—
Gotta do the work.
Absolutely, out of the way, right? Large and small.
Uh, no, go ahead, because my question is, well, how— if someone wanted to participate in your movement and want to participate in that training, do you do it virtually online? How do people get involved? How—
what, um, I am— that's a good question. Um, no, not right now.
Oh, we need to get together because we need to make this thing happen sooner than later because you already got me saying, hey, I want to join. You already— you already had somebody ready to enroll. So that's something that I think—
Yeah, he's even talking about transitioning to making sure you do the retreats, and that would be well welcome.
I think it's exactly— is that right now I'm in the retreat phase. I've made, uh, over the period of time, I have some MOUs with a couple of companies here that have resorts.
Mm-hmm.
So, um, these are experiential and immersive environments that that people need to be so they go, aha, I recognize that behavior. And during COVID I think I gave a few classes online, but that didn't get translated. You know, there's an element of touch.
Yes.
That is engaged, you know, a transfer of information between The teacher and the student. Most of these practices like meditation, yoga, tai chi are mouth to ear. They weren't meant to teach in over the internet, right? Because each individual has a particular lesson that they needed to be guided through. When you're online. You're just teaching them the physicality of movement, right? But you still don't know what's underneath. The question is, what is the fear that brought you here, right? Why are you here? Why are you doing this?
Mm-hmm.
And that's what I try to pull back. I tell all my students— I see it.
One second. Now I'm gonna give you one second. I have to make a run. Be right back. Okay, you can grab it.
Yeah, we got you. So yeah, um, Xochitl, you know, the, the depthness that you bring to, to the platform and to those who would be listeners and, um, and participants is, is actually a gateway, you know. And we know there's Each person, it's like each one teach one kind of concept. What you're bringing to the level of the next level up, if you will, will be that right there. Because through your own window of Africa, I always said that when I was, um, that what I've been trying to do was organize Africa and create my own gateways. This has been in my vision site since 2014 when I was literally living there. To build out my own gateways to enter into, um, Africa for those who have not had that experience, you know.
Mm-hmm.
Even if you're just coming to visit, you know, one time off, whatever, like this. So some of the gateways that I was lining up was one, media house, 2, legal, 3, cultural development. Um, basically a way to be developed because, you know, most— a lot of people think about going to Africa I saw a show on this morning, and it's a new show coming out about Africa. But all they showed was animals. They didn't talk now one about you know all they talked they talked about the continent, but they never talked about the actual people. They showed the animals from the sea to the smallest creature to the to top five, the big five as we call it right there. But they never showed the people. Our journey to transition would be people. When I first went there, I didn't go there to look at animals. I went there to do the safari of the people. And that's how I became part of the bigger purpose, the bigger family, if you say. And that really— that was healing.
And that's really important because, you know, I've talked to people who have, uh, done, you know, I've traveled to Africa, and one of the things that I've heard back from them is that they're, they're put into a cubicle, that they're going through Africa. So they go to the sites and sounds and listen to music, and they get an introduction to culture, but when they walk away, they haven't developed relationships. Right, and so you know it's like when we put on retreats, one of the part of doing retreat is going out in the community and doing community work. So that so that now you have this experience. It's not that oh I got money I'm going to give da da da. No, do the work. Go out in the community and clean up something. Help them build something. That's how you— then you can have a meal with someone and laugh about the experience. But if you don't do the work and you're just— I call it the zoo, that you're just walking around and you go, okay, I went here and I saw this and I saw that, and I saw this, and that was my experience of Africa, then you really haven't done the work. You really don't know what is involved in it because you haven't had those interpersonal relationships of communications.
That's powerful.
Right. You have to, like you said, and part of doing the work, you have to be involved because you If you're not involved with the people in the community, and I always tell a lot of people, you know, go in where you fit in at. You don't have to do my journey, my walk. I mean, I may be there to be set up like I'm going in in December. The whole purpose of that is to me returning back to Africa. I'm going in doing a mission first because this is what I was instructed with by by my father, my God. Right, to go in and do the work first and then go back into the society of the people. Because I owe that, as far as I'm concerned. I owe the, the laboring part of making sure that I'm covered. And me being— I say covered, covered by the Most High.
Mm-hmm.
Get in that way, do that work first, then I can go back and re— patronize myself to my brothers, my sisters, my family members, and everybody else. That's the key objective there. So my first week, as soon as I hit the ground, that's exactly what I'm doing. I hit the ground going straight into the mission mode.
And you know, the thing is, is when you're working side by side with someone, that's building a relationship, right? So, um, And I don't know your experience in the military, but that was part of the soft power of the military, is going into a community and help work side by side to develop something for the community, to laugh, to work, to eat, to share. And when we don't do that, we just travel You know, we have a good time. Basically, we're in our own our own bubble, and we're just visiting a country, and then we leave. So there's there's a big difference between it's like where I live. You know, I get to talk to my neighbors. I may know them. I may not, but they know me. And so. So we can laugh and joke, eat together. And so it— that breaking the bread together is actually building a relationship from an internal process. We actually start to trust each other, and that moves us forward to doing other things.
So how could someone want to get in touch if they want to know more Learn more from you, learn about your next retreat. When you're coming to the United States, I know you're going to let us know so we can help you put a retreat on.
Oh, that would be good.
That would be amazing.
Well, right now, um, they can always contact me through tinesu.com.
Um, hold on, listen, listen, it's already posted, it's inside the links already. Can we put it across this— put it across the screen? Because when it's a replay, there won't be any links. Um, let me find—
hold up, I'll put it in the comment sections also.
Okay, how do you spell that?
Oh, sorry, go ahead.
No, go ahead. T-E-N-E-S-U.
T-E-N-E-S-U.
And that means to rise. To rise and to awaken.
Is that tinesu.com? Okay, wonderful.
Or, uh, they can get, uh, to me by email at zochi@tanesu.com. And also they can reach me through WhatsApp. Um, I have to— I don't think— did I give you my local number? So if they, uh, the best way is just really Reaching through, asking questions at Tinessu. We're in the process of rebuilding the site, um, but it's still working. Um, just it's time to clean house and do some things. But then email is always best, and I typically try to respond, and— or my assistant, we try to respond within a week of receiving Yeah.
Also, Josie, I'm Zochi, just so you'll know. And let me screen share. Listen, Vanessa, I post been building a Zochia site for the last ten years, right? Oh. That's when I had old copy paste system, everything. Zochi. What I do right now is synthetic intelligence. I built rapid systems out. We can cross over that. I already looked at your site, and I know you're using Aero from. GoDaddy. And there's a lot we can do with that for, um, minimum, just to get the new one. And it'd be fresh. It's like you saw the system I built for the Fearless Friday one. Um, that's just one of maybe 50 systems. It has that level of appeal to it, to include all the automation, the bots and everything that can take care of it. But we'll talk.
Definitely, we could talk about that offline. Um, it is, uh, one of my top priorities to have a new face. And I'm rewriting, you know, it's like as you grow, you realize that, okay, this is what we can do. This is the future.
Yeah.
And, you know, being realistic about it. And right now I'm in the phase of, like I said, doing retreats and teaching principles through movement. You know, more somatic work. And it's, you know, it's hard because if you're not like immersed in it, right? I have students that go, I know you've said this thousands of times, but I finally got it. So, you know, so, you know.
Yeah, because it's different. It's like sitting in the pews at church. You hear a word today, but it has a whole different definition. The exact same word words tomorrow because you learn that the application comes by practice. Practice comes by awareness of whatever, whatever that thought came, that spiritual guidance came, or that frequency that it aligned at that moment in time. So, oh, let me, let me move out on this.
Well, the first thing is your intention too. Yeah, I think just before, um, is that Why are you doing something? Everyone should have an intention that is inclusive of oneself and greater than oneself. And what does that mean? That means that if I'm practicing whatever I'm practicing, then I'm doing it for, say, my health. But the greater purpose is I'm doing it for my community. I'm doing it to live long enough to see my grandchildren. I'm doing it to help direct and create the future that I want to live in and thrive in, right? Inclusive and greater than oneself. And if we, if we just focus on, oh, I'm building my muscles or I'm getting in health, then as soon as we reach a point that we think we made it, we drop the intention and we move on to something else. So it has to be tied to something greater than ourselves.
That's really good.
Absolutely. This has been great. So, so, Sochi, what would you like— you have to leave something for someone. What would you like to tell someone that's listening to this about wellness, about Africa, about anything that's on your heart?
That's a good question. I would have to say that whether it be wellness or moving and, you know, moving to the continent or anywhere, that know yourself. You know, the ancestors have passed that down. And that is very important to really deeply know why you're doing something. Not, you know, that's not material. Know who you are and what is the work that you really want to do that you love. So whether you meet challenges Or not, you're, you're living your dream. So I think that's the most simplest, uh, lesson. Um, doing due diligence. Um, don't think you know it all. Um, because you don't. Everything you think you know, you don't know.
Mm-hmm.
So just let go. And as you know, it's like in Ethiopia, they have the saying, step by step, the egg will grow legs and walk. So, slowly, that one step at a time, and be present in that. Beautiful.
Beautiful. I love that. I love that. Okay, I have these cards. Okay. And I'm gonna shuffle these cards up, and it's gonna ask you just a question about yourself. Okay. And so, and then you— I'm gonna keep shuffling. You tell me to stop. And so then when I stop, the question— that's the card that's on the top right here— that's going to be your— that's going to be your question. Okay.
All right, we begin.
We begin. Shall we begin? Yes.
All right, stop.
Okay, so your question is, who was the last person that you stalked on social media?
Stalked?
Stalked.
I would have to say no one. No one. No one. There are people that I admire that have, for example, Professor Carr, who does Nubia programs on African American history, reading, and so forth and so on. I, I follow them. I don't stalk them. Um, yeah, there are, you know, many teachers that I'm always, you know, trying to put my ear to listen, um, because they're wisdom teachers. And so I follow a few teachers, um, but I, you know, stalking, that's a— that's another thing altogether.
Well, I'm gonna stalk you because I'm, I'm gonna find you on social media and I'm gonna stalk you. Because you have a lot of wisdom that I want to partake from.
So, well, anytime. I'm, you know, it's not my wisdom. I'll say it doesn't belong to me. It belongs to all of us.
Yes.
And the more you share, the more you learn. So, um, it doesn't belong to me. This is, you know, yes, I got it from other people. I was paying attention and just listening. I remember when in my martial art days that especially Dr. Pang, Professor Pang, who taught, was one of my first teachers in Tai Chi. He would tell stories and all the students didn't want to hear the stories. They just wanted to do the physical components. But I was like, I'm going to sit here and I want to listen to this story, the narrative, because mythology is a way of teaching things that— teaching the invisible. And so by sitting in front of the teacher and listening to the story, it's not the words. It's the symbology behind the words that is opening up your heart and mind to learn. So yeah.
Yes, yes. Well, I sure appreciate it. I am, I'm, I'm open. I want to learn more, and I appreciate you. I had a little light coming in, and it's been a pleasure just listening from you and hearing a different perspective on Africa and people coming over to Africa and the things that we have to prepare for. I think what you, you shared today was things that you don't hear people talk about for people coming over to Africa. That's why I believe it's so valuable to get your information out there and really to prepare people and to get from outside themselves. I think sometimes in America we're so overinflated with who we think we are, and we need to really go over there and try to be humble and find out who we are. And then we can— and while you're saying by helping, by getting our hands in the dirt versus us coming over there saying, oh, we're going to change this. So I thank you so much. It has been such— this has been valuable for me, and I want to learn more from you. And I hope that what I learned from you that I can also share with others that come across this.
Each one teach 10.
Okay, that's a whole lot.
Okay.
Thank you so much, Sydney.
Thank you for having me on on the program. I really appreciate it.
I do too. We're going to cut it up and clip it up and get you pieces and let you share it too because it's been invaluable.
It's been incredible. Now thank you, Zarcha, for coming online with us. Go ahead, hit it, girl.
Okay. Thank you. Anything. Thank you both so much.
Thank you very much. Yes, take care.
All right, you too.
Join us again for Fearless Friday, where we face challenges, share our stories, and move forward together. Until next time, take care. Stay encouraged and keep being fearless.
