Ayiana Viviana stands at the intersection of mind, body, and soul, creating art that guides us down whichever path our spirit most needs to venture. Until 2022, Ayiana didn’t know that the experiences of her life were preparing her to become an artist who creates abstract neurographic art. If you don’t know what that is, no worries; she breaks that, and so much more, down for us.

Perhaps more than anything else, though, her Innerview invites us to meditate on any one (or all) of the following:

* What do I want to see grow or expand in my life? In the world?

* If I truly and entirely accept and love myself or someone, what do I need to let go of?

* What can the parts of myself that I don’t like or feel comfortable with teach me about how to love better?

* What would need to change in my life for me to feel more free? To become more free?

Ayiana reminds us that yes, we’re spiraling, but only because life is cyclical. And just because you find yourself in familiar or darker spaces or places, it doesn’t mean you have to be or see them the same way.

To learn more about the Ayiana Viviana or shop her art, visit www.ayianaviviana.com or follow @ayianaviviana.

When a community is connected, the collective staying power is worth its weight in gold. And that’s what humanity is going to need as we continue to forge ahead in uncharted waters. I’m being reminded by life right now to take what I need, and leave the rest…in God’s hands. I’ll tell you more about that in the first few minutes, but then we get to what this episode is really about: Nneka’s Innerview.

Nneka Azuka is an Emerging Leader Fellow (from the Stoneleigh Foundation) at The Village of Arts and Humanities, where I currently serve as Editor of their Staying Power Newsletter.

During her two-year-long fellowship, Nneka is tasked with increasing The Village’s capacity for community organizing and neighborhood power-building as an effective strategy for more equitable access to the resources that reduce violence and reverse disinvestment policies. She works closely with the Community Connectors—comprised of Philadelphians from all walks of life who are compensated to help share resources, stories, and build community power in the 19133, specifically the Fairhill/Hartranft neighborhood.

Throughout this year, I’ve been training and working with them around storytelling for the newsletter, and this Innerview, which served as an introduction to Nneka for our readers and community members, was a part of that process. The thing is, it was so good, I obtained permission to share it here. The reality is, humanity’s collective staying power is bigger than the 19133, so if there’s momentum building there that can empower us all, so be it!

I hope that, as you experience this Innerview, something lights up in and through you. And as it does, may something in someone else be sparked, and so on, and so on.

We are stronger together, and that’s what can (and will) make our Staying Power a force to be reckoned with.

To learn more about the village, visit www.villagearts.org or follow @thevillagephilly.

Staying Power - Aug. 2025 edition | Staying Power - Sept. 2025 edition

I don’t know why they swirled around me like they did—in a ring— as I sat meditation style in space. But that’s how I saw it. And so I sat in it—right in the center of it to see what it had to offer me.

Some in the spiritual community offer that Saturn’s Rings represent limitations, boundaries, and restrictions, or time (how it is experienced or managed). Given what filled my ring, I could see how that tracks; I couldn’t fix or stop any of it. They were all things that I felt limited or restricted in some way from fixing, solving, or easing.

If you happen to decide to get a 4:44 in today…

What’s showing up in your ring—what’s swirling around you? Pay attention to that. A couple of offerings:

* Focus on your breath — anytime something throws it off, come back and pick it up at the steady pace you had it. Keep coming back and picking it up.

* Stop the thoughts on sight — Anything that attempts to break out of the ring and pull up on you for a sustained period of thought gets dissolved. Periodt. It’s “on sight!” Nothing is allowed to move from the ring into your space.

* In your mind’s eye, look up —This could mean literally looking up while your eyes are closed, focusing on the center of your forehead. Envision you looking to lock eyes with your Creator. Just you and your Creator in this space for this time. See how long you can sustain it. Lower them, still eyes closed, as or if needed.

* Lastly, remember…

Just breathe.

Settle into your body…

..and come alive.

Set your timer. Close your eyes. Get into your Innerview.

Sincerely,

Syreeta

Follow⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠@myinnerviewpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram and use the hashtag #myinnerviewpod to join this conversation or share your Innerview.

Join the journey with Sincerely Syreeta by ⁠⁠subscribing to the open journal ⁠and connecting with her on Instagram:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠@sincerelysyreeta⁠⁠⁠⁠