You Ain’t Imagining This!
You Ain’t Imagining This! (YAIT) is an extension of Ama-Robin Lofton's the Espresso Talk Today Podcast. It is a bold and mindful podcast rooted in Black truth-telling, healing, and collective power. Through stories, reflections, and honest conversations, YAIT uplifts the lived experiences of Black folks—past, present, and future—reminding listeners they’re not alone, not exaggerating, and not imagining what they’ve seen, felt, or known. With four soul-nourishing episode types—YAIT Stories, Espresso Talks, Believe Black People, and Comforting Moments—this podcast creates space for truth, tenderness, and transformation.
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Sounds of Safety: The Front Porch
01/05/2026
Sounds of Safety: The Front Porch
Sounds of Safety is a gentle audio offering rooted in the Black tradition of the front porch—a place of watching, listening, resting, and belonging. You’ll hear everyday porch sounds: distant voices, footsteps passing by, wind in the trees, birds, quiet movement, and moments of silence. Nothing demands your attention. Nothing needs fixing. This is an invitation to let your body remember what it feels like to be safe enough to simply be. You can listen while resting, after a difficult moment, or as part of winding down—allowing your nervous system to soften and your breath to settle. Why Sounds of Safety Matter Safety isn’t just an idea—it’s sensory. For many Black people, danger hasn’t always announced itself loudly; it’s lived quietly in the body. Sounds of Safety works by offering familiar, non-threatening sounds that signal: you are not alone, you are not being watched, you are not in danger right now. These sounds help: calm the nervous system reduce hypervigilance reconnect the body to presence and ease restore a sense of grounded awareness This isn’t escapism. It’s regulation. Why the Front Porch Matters The front porch is not inside and not outside—it’s the threshold. Historically, it has been a place where Black life unfolded in public view with protection: talking, laughing, listening, resting, watching the world pass without being pulled into it. In YAIT Town, the Front Porch represents: shared presence without performance community without extraction safety without silence The Sounds of Safety belong here because the porch teaches us something essential: You don’t have to disappear to be safe. You don’t have to explain yourself to belong. You can sit, listen, and still be held.
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Umoja: A Comforting Moment for Feeling Connected
12/26/2025
Umoja: A Comforting Moment for Feeling Connected
This Comforting Moment marks the first day of Kwanzaa — Umoja, the principle of Unity. In this gentle gathering in the Umoja Cafe in YAIT Town, we pause to remember that we were never meant to carry life alone. YAIT Town is a living sanctuary built through story, reflection, and shared breath — a place you can return to for rest, truth, and connection. Alongside Comforting Moments like this one, You Ain’t Imagining This! offers: Immersive and Sensory Stories that invite you into Black spaces, memories, and moments. Believe Black People episodes that name and challenge racism and the experience of living Black in predominantly white spaces. Espresso Talks that explore everyday Black life with care and clarity. You’re also invited to deepen this work through the YAIT newsletter, where reflections, rituals, and community offerings continue beyond the podcast. YAIT Town is always open — and the porch light is always on.
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We Carry the Light: A Comforting Moment for Dark Winter Days
12/18/2025
We Carry the Light: A Comforting Moment for Dark Winter Days
On the longest nights of the year, we gather on the Front Porch in YAIT Town to remember that we don’t face the darkness alone. We Carry the Light is a gentle, Comforting Moment centered on Black joy, ancestral presence, shared hope, and the quiet warmth we give one another — even when the world goes dim. Comforting Moments are short, restful episodes meant to be used however you need them: while resting, walking, sitting in the dark, or simply breathing. These are pauses, not lessons — places to land, soften, and be held. You’re always welcome here — come join us on the Front Porch. The porch light is always on.
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The Wintering Room: A Story to Help You Rest This Winter
12/10/2025
The Wintering Room: A Story to Help You Rest This Winter
In this YAIT Town Story, we step inside Nommo Books and discover the mysterious Wintering Room — a sanctuary that appears only in December. This fictional tale carries real and relevant truths about rest, darkness, and cultural wisdom. Ama-Robin, a Black empowerment storyteller, guides us through a mystical yet grounded journey that reminds us: winter isn’t a season to push through; it’s an invitation to soften, breathe, and reclaim the pace nature intended.
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The Day of Gratitude: You Have a Place Here
11/27/2025
The Day of Gratitude: You Have a Place Here
Come on into YAIT Town for a celebration unlike anything you’ve ever heard! This is not Thanksgiving. This is The Day of Gratitude — a reimagined gathering rooted in Black joy, ancestral presence, and the flavors of the Diaspora. One long table stretches from the Front Porch to the Community Garden, covered in jollof rice, mac and cheese, plantains, root vegetables, and stories carried across oceans. In this special episode, you’ll walk with Ama-Robin between the chairs, greeting neighbors of all ages — the elders with their laughter and wisdom, the children asking brilliant questions, Mr. Isaiah with his bird stories, Ms. Geneva with her books, Malik with his handmade art, the Robinsons with their abundant plates. There’s an empty chair at the head of the table for the ancestors. There is joy. There is reverence. There is warmth. There is belonging. And there is you — invited, welcomed, held. If you’ve ever wished for a holiday that honors our people, our history, our culture, and our resilience… this is it. Pull up a chair at the Gratitude Table. You have a place here. You always did. And you ain't imagining this!
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An Espresso Talk on How to Feel Good Today
11/20/2025
An Espresso Talk on How to Feel Good Today
Join me on the Front Porch! Today, we slow down together and learn a simple, powerful practice for rewiring the mind toward what nourishes us. Using four steps — seeing the good, naming the good, staying with the good, and claiming the good — we explore how neuroplasticity becomes a tool of healing, resilience, and liberation for Black folks living in predominantly white spaces. With Auntie Octavia by our side and sweet tea in hand, we talk about why our brains have been trained to scan for danger, why that’s not a flaw but a survival skill, and how learning to gather the good can shift our health, our joy, our relationships, and even our generational inheritance. This episode is soft, honest, and deeply ancestral — a moment to breathe, reset, and remember that joy is our birthright. You ain’t imagining this. Ama-Robin's Book Selection: Every Day Spirit: A Daybook of Wisdom, Joy, and Peace by Mary Davis Affirmations: “My ancestors wanted this for me.” “This goodness belongs to all of us.” “Joy is my resistance.” “I’m learning to harvest what’s mine.”
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Welcome to Nommo Books- Finale: Behind the Story
11/14/2025
Welcome to Nommo Books- Finale: Behind the Story
In this final audio walkthrough of Nommo books, we'll go behind the story of the past audios and why we built Nommo Books in YAIT Town.
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Welcome to Nommo Books - Part 2 : The Boy Who Wouldn't Leave The Library
11/14/2025
Welcome to Nommo Books - Part 2 : The Boy Who Wouldn't Leave The Library
Listen to this Nommo Books Story about the boy who wouldn't leave the library
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Welcome to Nommo Books - Part 3: My First Visit
11/14/2025
Welcome to Nommo Books - Part 3: My First Visit
Nommo Books — The First Visit I remember the first time I stepped into Nommo Books. The air was warm, thick with the smell of paper and cardamom tea. Rain had followed me all the way from the corner, and when I closed the door behind me, the city seemed to exhale and go quiet. Inside, the light was soft and amber. A record player somewhere in the back was spinning a Coltrane ballad that wrapped itself around the room–I could tell it was a record because of the distinct crackling sound! I love hearing the sax and the crackling. I stood for a moment just to listen. Otherwise, the store was silent. But it wasn’t a silence that told you to whisper or walk softly — it was a silence that said, safe. The shelves were tall and full, but nothing about them felt still. The names on the spines — Morrison, Baldwin, Sanchez, Butler — seemed to hum together, low and steady, like a choir warming up. I ran my hand along the wooden shelves, and my anticipation jumped with the thought of having access to so much brilliance at my fingertips. Then something familiar but not experienced for a long time grabbed my attention. Off to my left, there was a small circle of elders gathered around a wide wooden table near the front window. Newspapers were spread out beside mugs of coffee, and the conversation moved easily between laughter and low debate — about politics, about the neighborhood, about what the grandkids were up to. It felt like home, like the kind of talk that keeps a community connected thru generations.. Farther back, through a half-open doorway, I glimpsed the Story Room. Bright pillows scattered across the floor, children sitting cross-legged while someone read aloud from a picture book. Their voices rose and fell with the rhythm of the tale, and their laughter spilled into the hallway like sunlight. Near the center of the shop stood the Book-of-the-Month table. A notebook lay open beside a stack of novels wrapped with twine, filled with handwritten notes from readers — “This line broke me open.” “Read this one slow.” “Reminded me of my mama.” And by the door, a cork bulletin board overflowed with flyers: a poetry reading, a rent-strike meeting, a drumming class, a healing circle. Nommo Books wasn’t just a store; it was the town’s bulletin of living, breathing connection. That’s when I saw her. Ms. Geneva Carter, behind the counter, wearing a deep purple scarf and glasses that caught the lamplight. She didn’t rush to greet me. She looked up, smiled like she already knew me, and her eyes said, “You’re welcome.. Take your time. The story you need will call your name when it’s ready.” I nodded, understanding that I didn’t need to speak my thoughts outloud. There was a kettle steaming somewhere, and the sound of pages turning, and the faint click of someone typing notes on a keyboard.. I found a seat near the window, beside a stack of used paperbacks bound with twine. Outside, the rain kept time against the glass. For a while, I just sat there. I read a little, then looked up, then read again. A woman laughed softly in the next aisle. Someone hummed a hymn I half-remembered from childhood. And for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was part of the sound — not intruding, not surviving, just belonging. Before I left, Ms. Carter slipped a small bookmark into my hand. On it, she’d written, You are never alone in a Black bookstore. I keep it with me still — a reminder that our stories are waiting, and that home can be found in the turning of a page. You’re never alone in a Black bookstore.
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Welcome to Nommo Books - Part 1: An Entrance Walk-through
11/14/2025
Welcome to Nommo Books - Part 1: An Entrance Walk-through
Let me welcome you to the warm and peaceful hub that is Nommo books with this audio walk-through experience. In this first part, we step inside and breathe in the scent of coffee and sandalwood. Books line the shelves like friends waiting to be introduced, Sometimes you’ll even find a handwritten note tucked inside — a quote, an affirmation, a reminder that you belong. Nommo Books is more than a bookstore; it’s a heartbeat of memory, resilience, and imagination
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You’ve Done Enough: A Comforting Moment of Letting Go
11/13/2025
You’ve Done Enough: A Comforting Moment of Letting Go
This special Comforting Moment invites you to pause the noise, settle your spirit, and rest in the calm rhythm of the harvest season. In YAIT Town, the air is cool, the garden is quiet, and the work is finally done. Here, we practice the art of receiving and releasing—taking in what still nourishes us, letting go of what no longer serves us, and blessing it all with gratitude. Through gentle narration and grounding soundscapes, storyteller Ama-Robin guides you into stillness—where breath slows, shoulders soften, and the mind unclenches. This isn’t a story about doing more; it’s a reminder that enough has already been done. Wherever you are, let this be your sacred pause. Come rest in the calm. Come gather your peace.
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Harvest Time: Choosing What We Keep and What We Let Go
11/06/2025
Harvest Time: Choosing What We Keep and What We Let Go
This week in YAIT Town, we walk together to the Community Garden—the heart of our village and the keeper of quiet wisdom. The rows are slower now, the air cooler, and the season is asking hard but necessary questions: What is still feeding you? What have you outgrown? What are you carrying that no longer needs to travel with you? In this YAIT Story, “The Gathering,” Ama-Robin meets Mama Abena among the collards, sage, and falling leaves to learn the art of harvesting without hurry—of knowing when to hold on and when to let go. Through story and reflection, we explore what it means to gather only what nourishes and to release what has already served its purpose. Come breathe, listen, and gather what’s truly yours to keep. Welcome home to YAIT Town.
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Welcome to YAIT Town: The Walking Tour
10/30/2025
Welcome to YAIT Town: The Walking Tour
YAIT Town isn’t on any map — it’s a Black sanctuary built from story, memory, and imagination. In this special episode, sistah-host Ama-Robin invites you to be among the first to walk its streets and feel its rhythm. The tour begins on the front porch where we meet, connect, and recharge together. Then we will visit a Black-centered bookstore that lights up the main street, our soul-centered café that fills the air with laughter and cornbread, the George Washington Carver Community Garden where freedom grows from the soil, and our barber-beauty shop that hums with clippers and community. YAIT Town is more than just a "place" — it’s a way of coping, healing, and building together. This is a Black town — a digital sanctuary for our stories, our joy, our rest, and our wholeness. In this opening walk through YAIT Town, you’ll hear the sounds of children playing, feel the peace of the porch light, and know without a doubt: you belong here. Come take the first walk. The porch light’s already on. You never walk it alone. You ain’t imagining this!
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Nighttime on the Porch: A YAIT Comforting Moment
10/23/2025
Nighttime on the Porch: A YAIT Comforting Moment
In this Comforting Moment episode, host and sistah-guide Ama-Robin Lofton invites you to sit on the porch with a glass of sweet tea at dusk. Together, we slow down, breathe, and remember what it feels like to belong. Through gentle storytelling and guided reflection, Ama-Robin reminds us that safety isn’t always found in crowds or conversation, but in quiet company—the kind that sees you without words. This moment of rest and presence is part of the You Ain’t Imagining This! sanctuary series, offering peace, grounding, and connection for Black listeners navigating a noisy world. Take a few minutes to exhale. To feel held. To remember that you are never alone. So pour yourself something warm, exhale, and come take your seat. Because on this porch, the light stays on for you.
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Sit With Me: How You Can Keep Your Peace and Power
10/16/2025
Sit With Me: How You Can Keep Your Peace and Power
The porch. The veranda. The stoop. Whatever you call it, it’s the space where we learn, rest, and remember who we are. In this story, five children visit five porches—each one offering its own lesson: how to listen, how to love in truth, how to be still, how to come home, and how to stay strong when the world refuses to see your light. They return feeling safe, cherished, and forever changed. The porch is more than a step outside your door—it’s a safe zone, a classroom, and a reminder that peace and power belong to you. But we have to claim it. We have to be mindful of where we sit, who sits with us, and what we allow to follow us home. So come sit with me. Let’s breathe, reflect, and remember the spaces that keep us whole.
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Food Is Not Just Food: Reclaiming Our Tables and Our Power
10/09/2025
Food Is Not Just Food: Reclaiming Our Tables and Our Power
Pull up a chair for a soulful conversation about food, culture, and community! For us, food has never been just food. It’s memory. It’s resistance. It’s joy. It’s how we have loved, organized, healed, and built community — even in the hardest times. From the cookfires of the enslaved to the cafés of the Harlem Renaissance to today’s kitchen tables, our meals have carried the stories of who we are and what we’ve survived. But in a world that glorifies hustle, isolation, and convenience, many of us have lost the table — that sacred space where culture and connection live. Ama-Robin brings it all home with truth and tenderness, exploring how we can reclaim the table as a revolutionary act of care and collective power. You’ll hear about the history of Black food gathering spaces, the challenges of modern disconnection, and what it means to cook and eat from our roots again. And because reflection must lead to action, she offers ten concrete ways to reclaim the table — from small daily rituals to community-building gatherings that feed both body and spirit. Food connects us. Food reminds us. And when we come together around it, we are unstoppable. Listen and learn: Why food is a form of resistance, not just nourishment How communal meals build strength, belonging, and joy What we lose when we abandon our cultural tables Ten practical ways to reclaim food as a tool of liberation and love Pull up your chair. Pour your tea. Grab your plate. This isn’t just a talk about food — it’s a call to remember that together, we are the table.
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You're Never Alone in a Black Bookstore: A YAIT Story about Belonging
10/02/2025
You're Never Alone in a Black Bookstore: A YAIT Story about Belonging
While I’m traveling this week, I’m bringing back a listener favorite: You’re Never Alone in a Black Bookstore. This isn’t just about books. It’s about belonging! I'm Ama-Robin, your guide on this storytelling journey. Black bookstores are more than shops—they are sanctuaries, places where we’re seen, celebrated, and reminded that our stories matter. This YAIT Story takes you inside one of those spaces. In this immersive Village episode of You Ain’t Imagining This!, I will guide y'all inside a Black-owned bookstore—a space where history lives, wisdom flows, and the Black community thrives. Through storytelling, reflection, and real conversation, we will explore how these bookstores are more than stores—they’re classrooms, healing grounds, memory keepers, and hubs of joy. This YAIT Story is a glimpse of what that space will feel like: safe, welcoming, and filled with voices that remind us we are never alone. And yes, when YAIT Town opens very soon, there will be a Black Bookstore waiting for you there. This YAIT Story is a glimpse of what that space will feel like: safe, welcoming, and filled with voices that remind us we are never alone. And yes, when YAIT Town opens this month, there will be a Black Bookstore waiting for you there! As you listen, I’d love to know: What’s a Black book, author, or bookstore that has held you, taught you, or carried you through? Share your reflections with me on [Substack link] or [Instagram link] so we can keep building our library of love and resistance together. 📚 Got a favorite Black bookstore or book? Share it! 💬 Let’s talk about the spaces that hold us—and how we can protect, support, and remember them. Follow @AmaRobinTells on Instagram so you don’t miss what’s next: YAIT Town! You’re never alone in a Black bookstore. You ain’t imagining this.
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How to Move from Survival Coping to Healthy Coping: A Believe Black People Episode
09/25/2025
How to Move from Survival Coping to Healthy Coping: A Believe Black People Episode
Coping can keep us alive — but it also can come at a terrible cost. In this Believe Black People episode, Ama-Robin shares a personal story of survival coping, connects it to the weight that we as Black people have carried for generations, and names the truth: resilience is not permission, and survival is not freedom. Together, we’ll move from survival coping to empowered personal and collective coping. You’ll hear truth-telling, an empowering meditation, and practical steps to release the burdens we were never meant to carry. Because coping is not consent. And you ain’t imagining this.
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The Weight We Carry: A Black Empowerment Story
09/18/2025
The Weight We Carry: A Black Empowerment Story
How to Carry Less and Live More: A Black Empowerment Choice This episode is a modern folktale that asks: What are we carrying, and what might it feel like to finally set it down? I’m Ama-Robin, your storyteller and guide at You Ain’t Imagining This — the sanctuary where we name the chaos of living Black in white spaces and remember that we don’t have to carry it alone. It’s a story meant for reflection and meditation, with river sounds and a calm, steady pace — an invitation to rest your body, quiet your mind, and imagine release. Afterward, we’ll explore what this means for how we cope, both individually and as a community. And stay tuned — this story is also a doorway into the coming of YAIT Town, a sanctuary of porches, gardens, rivers, and libraries where we learn to carry less and live more. Because coping is survival. But survival isn’t the end of our story.
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The Coping Tax: How High-Effort Coping Drains Black Health and Joy
09/11/2025
The Coping Tax: How High-Effort Coping Drains Black Health and Joy
I’m Ama-Robin, host of You Ain’t Imagining This — the storytelling sanctuary where we name the chaos of living Black in white spaces and remember that we don’t have to carry it alone. In this episode, we sit on the porch with the fictional character, Mrs. Alberta Jenkins, a retired teacher and elder in our community, as she names something many of us know but rarely say out loud: the coping tax. The coping tax is the high-effort coping we pay every day just to exist in spaces that weren’t built for us. It’s the price that shows up in our bodies, our spirits, and our peace of mind. You’ll hear stories, reflections, and a simple ritual for shaking a little of it off. Together, we’ll explore how to recognize unhealthy coping — and begin reclaiming the practices that restore us instead of draining us. In this episode, we talk about: What the “coping tax” is and how it shows up in daily Black life. Real examples of high-effort coping: Working twice as hard for half the recognition. Smiling or laughing when something isn’t funny to avoid being labeled “angry.” Pushing through illness or exhaustion to prove you’re reliable. Code-switching until you barely recognize yourself. The illusion of “paying the tax” — and the true cost to our health, rest, and family. A small ritual from Mrs. Jenkins’ porch to help you release some of the day’s weight. And this is just the beginning. Starting next month, we’ll step fully into YAIT Town — a sanctuary of porches, gardens, rivers, and libraries where our stories and healing practices live. In this episode, you’ll catch the first glimpse of that place. Because coping is survival. But survival isn’t the end of our story.
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While I Rest: A YAIT Comforting Moment
08/21/2025
While I Rest: A YAIT Comforting Moment
This final episode of the Black Summer Healing Session is a sacred invitation to pause. Across seven weeks, we’ve released burdens, reclaimed joy, and restored balance. Now, Ama-Robin presents this episode, While I Rest. This meditative episode offers a soft place to breathe and remember. ✨ You’ll receive seven remembrances—one from each session—to guide your reflection. ✨ You’ll hear a closing folktale that reminds us why rest is holy. ✨ You’ll be invited into a gentle ritual of gratitude and self-affirmation. Rest is not weakness. Rest is healing. Rest is liberation. Asante sana for journeying through this Black Summer Healing Session. If this episode spoke to you, please like or share it with someone who needs a moment of rest today.
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You Ain’t Imagining the Hustle—And It’s Hurting our Health!
08/14/2025
You Ain’t Imagining the Hustle—And It’s Hurting our Health!
In this Espresso Talk, storyteller Ama-Robin names “the Hustle” for what it is—a survival pattern of overwork and over-achievement born from our history. It is stealing our rest, our joy, and even our health. From the based-in-truth story of Miss Josie Mae to the groundbreaking research of Dr. Sherman James, we explore how constant high-effort coping wears us down and how we can choose freedom instead. You’ll walk away with tools to slow down, reclaim your breath, and live in alignment with your body, spirit, and community. You’ll get in this episode: Real-life examples of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual hustle How hustle culture damages our health and spirit Practical steps to slow down and protect your well-being Bonus: Grounding Ritual for Release Sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes if it feels safe. Place your hands over your heart. Inhale deeply for a count of 4. Hold for 2. Exhale for 6. Repeat three times. Whisper or think: “I am more than what I do. I am enough as I am.” Imagine placing the weight you’ve been carrying into the earth beneath you, knowing it can hold it. Open your eyes when you’re ready, carrying only what’s yours to carry. Learn More & Support Black Scholars In this episode, we mentioned the powerful work of several Black researchers, writers, and organizations who are helping us live longer, healthier, and more liberated lives. Their work supports us—let’s support them back. Dr. Sherman James – Epidemiologist and creator of the a tool for understanding how high-effort coping affects health, especially in Black communities. Learn more about his research and take the scale . Tricia Hersey – Founder of and author of Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto. Her work reclaims rest as a form of resistance and a healing right for Black people. Learn more here. (ABPsi) – An organization dedicated to advancing Black-centered psychology, mental health, and community well-being. They remind us that our history and culture are core to our psychology. Learn more and support their work here.
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Laying Down the Armor: A YAIT Comforting Moment
07/31/2025
Laying Down the Armor: A YAIT Comforting Moment
We’ve worn emotional armor to survive—from slavery to segregation to being “the first” in white spaces. But healing means knowing when (and how) to set that armor down. In this Comforting Moment, we honor what protected us and gently choose rest. Through breath, reflection, and a powerful gratitude meditation, we invite the safety of community, culture, and ancestral strength. 💛 In this episode, you’ll receive: A grounding visualization for emotional release A cultural reminder that you are never alone in your healing A soft but powerful meditation to thank your armor—and prepare for freedom ✨ Don’t miss the Gratitude Ritual Gift in the show notes. You don’t have to carry it alone. Not today. 🌿 Gratitude Ritual: Laying Down the Armor You’ll need: A quiet space A comfortable seat A small object that represents protection (e.g. a scarf, stone, bracelet, or even your hand on your chest) A candle or soft light (optional) Step 1: Settle and Breathe Sit in stillness. Place your hands over your heart or on your chosen object. Take three deep, slow breaths. On each exhale, gently release some of the tension you’ve been carrying. Step 2: Acknowledge the Armor Close your eyes and name the armor you’ve worn: Perfection Silence Always being “the strong one” Smiling when you’re hurting Preparing for harm, even when it doesn’t come Say softly (or in your heart): “I see you. I know why you were needed. Thank you for protecting me.” Step 3: Honor Your Lineage Speak to those who came before you: “Thank you to the ones who wore this armor before me. Thank you for surviving, resisting, and preparing the way.” Name one ancestor, mentor, or community member who carried armor so you didn’t have to. Step 4: Release With Intention Now, hold your object or place your hand on your chest and say: “I am safe enough to set you down—for now.” “I release what I no longer need to carry.” “I am not alone.” Visualize the armor gently loosening, sliding off, or being laid beside you like a beloved coat that you’ll only wear when needed. Step 5: A Blessing Forward Place your hand over your heart and speak this aloud: “May I move through the world with tenderness and strength.” “May I trust that I am protected by love, community, and wisdom.” “May I prepare the way for those who come next.” End with a soft, full breath. 💫 Return to this ritual whenever the armor feels too heavy. You’re allowed to rest. You’re allowed to heal. You’re allowed to lay it down.
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Letting Go Ain't Weakness: A YAIT Story on Black Self-Love
07/24/2025
Letting Go Ain't Weakness: A YAIT Story on Black Self-Love
Letting go is never simple—especially for Black people living in predominantly white spaces-- where we’ve been expected to carry more than our share and to do it quietly. But what if letting go is not abandonment, but liberation? What if it’s an act of love? In this warm, reflective episode, Ama-Robin invites you into three immersive stories —slow-paced, story-driven, and deeply rooted in Black cultural truth. ✨ Story 1: Dreams Left at the Door A woman returns to the porch where she first dreamed big, and grieves the pieces of herself she left behind. ✨ Story 2: Auntie’s Place A neighborhood elder helps visitors release the pain they’ve been told to forget, through ancestral ritual and quiet resistance. ✨ Story 3: Laying It Down at the Door One woman reflects on the sacred art of not carrying everything—not for everyone, and not forever. Each story reminds us that letting go isn’t erasure—it’s making room. It’s how we reclaim our breath. And how we practice self-love that is not Eurocentric, individualistic, or shallow—but cultural, communal, ancestral, and real. This episode includes: Grief and rage naming rituals Ancestral practices of release Black psychology of emotional weight A Beyond the Story reflection on self-love and sacred release At the end, you’ll hear a short breathing cue and reflection to help you ease into your own ritual of release. 📍 You ain’t imagining this. And you never had to carry it alone. 🧘🏾♀️ Letting Go & Cleansing Rituals: Here are a few simple, sacred practices to support your release: 🕊️ Name & Water Ritual Whisper the name of what you’re releasing into a bowl of water. Pour the water out under an open sky. 🔥 Burning the Lie Write down a false belief or racist message you were told. Burn the paper safely and say: “This no longer belongs to me.” 🌿 Herbal Holding Hold a grounding item—like a smooth stone or fresh herb (basil, rosemary, or sage). Say aloud: “This is heavy. But I am not alone.” 📓 Journaling Prompt What have I been asked to carry that never belonged to me? What am I ready to lay down at the door?
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The Circle that We Couldn't Save - A YAIT Story of Unity
07/17/2025
The Circle that We Couldn't Save - A YAIT Story of Unity
Alafia, fam! “Some circles can’t be saved. But new ones can be born.” In this third episode of the Black Healing Summer session, Ama-Robin invites you to slow down and breathe as she takes you on a journey through an insightful folk tale. You'll hear about an African village's sacred circle disrupted by an outsider’s influence, leading to important lessons about the strength--and fragility--of our own sacred spaces. Ama-Robin draws a powerful connection to our present realities, shedding light on the importance of protecting our circles and knowing when it’s time to rebuild. Stick around for the 'Beyond the Story' segment, where you'll dive deeper into these themes and reflect on your own sacred spaces and boundaries. Remember, sometimes it's okay to walk away to protect your peace. “This isn’t just a story. It’s a mirror—and a warning.”✨💫 Three Reasons to Tune In: 🥁 Immerse yourself in a beautiful folk tale that carries deep truths. 🌟 Learn how to recognize and protect your own sacred spaces. 💬 Reflect on your own circles and consider what keeps them whole. If this resonates with you, be sure to subscribe and share it with someone who needs to hear it. You deserve to feel safe, in rhythm, and connected. See you there!
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The Black Healing Room: A YAIT Story on Rejuvenation
07/10/2025
The Black Healing Room: A YAIT Story on Rejuvenation
What if you had a space where you could breathe, release, and remember who you are—no explanations, no performance, just presence? In this episode, we step into The Black Healing Room—a sanctuary we can carry with us, anywhere. This is Part 2 of The Black Healing Summer Session—a season-long journey into rest, release, and renewal. You’ll experience a special Comforting Moment guided visualization to help you imagine your own healing space. And in the Beyond the Story segment, Ama-Robin explores the importance of both individual and collective Black healing—and the radical, liberating power of daydreaming. ✨ Come as you are. ✨ Take what you need. ✨ You ain’t imagining this.
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The Day I Let My Burdens Fall: A YAIT Story
07/03/2025
The Day I Let My Burdens Fall: A YAIT Story
In this first episode of The Black Healing Summer Session, host and storyteller Ama-Robin invites you into a powerful reflection on what happens when we stop carrying everything alone. Through an immersive story, she shares the experience of a Black woman professional who finally decides to lay down the invisible burdens she’s been holding: perfectionism, hypervigilance, and the relentless pressure to prove herself. In the Beyond the Story segment, Ama-Robin reads Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask,” and explores how generational expectations to stay “strong” have shaped—and strained—our spirits. ✨ 3 Things You’ll Hear in This Episode: A moment of quiet liberation in a work parking lot that becomes the start of real healing A reflection on how ancestral wisdom helps us unlearn what exhausts us Simple, powerful practices to release what you no longer want to carry This is the beginning of The Black Healing Summer Session—a season-long journey into rest, release, and renewal. Come as you are. Take what you need. And remember: you ain’t imagining this. 🎧 If this story resonates, subscribe, share, and join us for the full series.
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Juneteenth Is Not Just a Holiday: Believe Black People Episode
06/26/2025
Juneteenth Is Not Just a Holiday: Believe Black People Episode
Juneteenth has passed—but we’re not moving on. Because we still don’t have full freedom. And we damn sure don’t have true liberation. This Believe Black People episode of You Ain’t Imagining This! was generously loaned by the Espresso Talk Today team—and we thank them deeply for this offering. In this powerful audio celebration, you’ll hear: 📖 An original, fact-based Juneteenth story read by Marlene Slaughter 📜 A historical reflection from Elder Mel, reading a rare first-person account from her great-grandaunt Miss Rosina Hoard—who had been enslaved in Texas 💬 A deep, unflinching discussion about what Juneteenth means, how it’s been commercialized, and what still needs to change for Black folks in the U.S. This is more than a commemoration. It’s cultural clarity. It’s remembrance. It’s resistance. And yes, it’s a celebration too—featuring the voice of Nina Simone singing “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free.” 🖤 Come as you are. Take what you need. And don’t let this day—or what it stands for—be forgotten.
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The Porch Light is Always On - An Immersive Story of Belonging
06/19/2025
The Porch Light is Always On - An Immersive Story of Belonging
This is more than memory. It’s a reminder: you were never alone. In this special Juneteenth bonus episode of You Ain’t Imagining This!, storyteller Ama-Robin guides you through a quiet, powerful tale about coming home, being expected, and the radical love embedded in one simple ritual: the porchlight. This immersive story takes you on a long drive home through California’s dust belt—toward a light left on without fail. It’s about more than safety. It’s about belonging. The kind passed down through generations. The kind that says: we’re still here, and we’re waiting for you. After the story, stay for a Beyond the Story reflection where Ama-Robin explores the deeper meaning of these everyday rituals in Black life—and why they still matter as acts of protection, presence, and resistance. ✨ Released in honor of Juneteenth, this bonus episode is a tribute to the ways we care for one another, even in silence. 🖤 Come as you are. Take what you need. And if someone needs to feel seen today—share this with them.
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Sounds of the Cookout - A YAIT Comforting Moment Episode
06/12/2025
Sounds of the Cookout - A YAIT Comforting Moment Episode
Sometimes peace sounds like laughter, a sizzling grill, and an uplifting playlist. In this Comforting Moment episode of You Ain’t Imagining This!, storyteller and empowerment coach Ama-Robin invites you into a sensory sanctuary—where the familiar sounds of a Black cookout become a place of rest, memory, and gentle joy. Comforting Moments are short, grounding episodes designed to offer you space to breathe, reconnect, and feel held amid the chaos. This one brings you to the heart of the cookout—not just as a party, but as a cultural ritual. A space where our joy, presence, and survival come together in rhythm and rest. The episode closes with a Harambee ritual, a Swahili chant meaning Let’s pull together, to remind you that you are never alone in this journey. 🖤 Come as you are. Take what you need. And if someone needs the sound of belonging—send this to them.
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